Fighting in Ethiopia’s civil conflict has spilled over into Lalibela, which is celebrated for its centuries-old churches hewn from rock.
Rebel forces from the Tigray region are now in control of the Unesco world heritage site including its local airport, witnesses said.
A resident said that the Tigrayan forces “just arrived in the afternoon”. “They were dancing and playing in the square of the city,” they added.
Another said that locals were fleeing. “Most of the people are leaving the town to the remote areas,” he said.
The fall of the town will raise fears for its cultural treasures. Religious sites in Tigray have been ransacked and even demolished during the fighting. Lalibela’s churches, built in the 12th and 13th centuries, mostly sit below ground level, surrounded by deep, dry moats.
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The northern Tigray region has been wracked by fighting since last November when Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s prime minister, sent troops to topple its renegade leadership. Since then thousands are reported to have died in the violence. In June Abiy, 44, was forced to withdraw his forces after massive gains by Tigrayans, which included retaking Mekelle, the regional capital.
He has suffered further humiliation in recent weeks as the conflict, which he promised would end swiftly, has spread to new areas. Government troops and militia units were mobilised to prevent the Tigrayans’ advance, but locals reported that Lalibela, in the neighbouring region of Amhara, fell without a fight.
The advancement by Tigrayan fighters deeper into Amhara and Afar has prompted thousands to abandon their homes, the UN said, and has deepened fears of a violent disintegration of Ethiopia’s ethnic federation.
Abiy, who was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2019, has denied claims by humanitarian agencies that emergency aid supplies have been deliberately blocked from reaching the needy. Up to 400,000 people in Tigray are at risk of starvation and death by September if emergency relief does not reach them, the UN has said.
