Tigrayan forces take control of Ethiopian town Lalibela, a UN World Heritage Site - eyewitnesses

Forces from Ethiopia's Tigray region have taken control of the town of Lalibela, whose famed rock-hewn churches are a United Nations World Heritage Site, two eyewitnesses told Reuters on Thursday. Lalibela, also a holy site for millions of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, is in the North Wollo Zone of the Amhara region in Ethiopia's north.

Forces from Ethiopia's Tigray region have taken control of the town of Lalibela, whose famed rock-hewn churches are a United Nations World Heritage Site, two eyewitnesses told Reuters on Thursday.

Lalibela, also a holy site for millions of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, is in the North Wollo Zone of the Amhara region in Ethiopia's north. In recent weeks fighting has spread from Tigray into two neighbouring regions, Amhara and Afar, forcing around 250,000 people to flee.

Reuters could not independently verify the eyewitnesses' information. Spokespeople for the prime minister, the Ethiopian military and a government task force on Tigray could not immediately be reached for comment.

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