Ethiopian Defense Force Took Control of Strategic positions in Bati and Burka Area

November 26, 2021

Hours after the capture of Kasagita, Ethiopian Forces took control of the mountains of Bati and Buka. 

PM Abiy Ahmed and Afar region President, Awol Arba, get explanation from a military commander in the Afar-Bati front (Photo:EBC)

Borkena

The Ethiopian government on Friday announced that Ethiopian Forces took control of a strategic mountain area in the surroundings of Burka and Bati. 

The Government Communication Minister said the Ethiopian force that cleared the mountain from Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters is under the command of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. 

It was earlier this week that the Prime Minister announced that he is marching to the battle front to lead the army but it was unspecified as to which battle fronts he headed to. 

Soon after the declaration of a unilateral humanitarian ceasefire by the Ethiopian government in late June 2020, the TPLF forces opened extensive war in multiple fronts in the Afar and Amhara regions of Ethiopia with the hope of controlling vital supply routes to Djibouti and Sudan. Over two million people were displaced. Thousands of civilians massacred and prosperity worth billions of birr destroyed or looted to be transported to the Tigray region of Ethiopia. 

The TPLF forces have reportedly suffered a major loss in the Kassagita Front. A huge contingent of TPLF forces are routed. Earlier this week, 12 key military commanders were  killed in action. 

According to the latest update from the government communication ministry, Ethiopian forces are marching to Kombolcha, the leading industrial city in the Amhara region that was heavily looted by TPLF forces, and Chifra. 

Unconfirmed sources in social media report that Bati town is already under the control of the Ethiopian Defense Forces. 

What the government communication confirmed is that the army is marching towards Bati,and Kombolcha. However, it has been confirmed that Chifra is under the control of Ethiopian Forces. 

Leading the army from the Bati front, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday said Ethiopian forces have cleared TPLF forces from Kasagita and that the victory will continue. “We will win,” he said.

The TPLF is also fighting in Shoa, central Ethiopia, which is under Amhara regional state. It is unclear if the Ethiopian Defense Force (it is supported by special forces and militia) has cleared Shewa Robit and Debre Sina area from TPLF forces. 

The TPLF has not released a statement regarding the capture of Kasagita and other strategic positions of military significance in the Bati Front, where the prime minister is personally giving leadership to the army.