Ethiopia’s Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) said Monday that its fighters had killed 500 government soldiers and wounded another 800 during fierce clashes in the country’s northern Tigray region.
The rebel group said the casualties occurred during fighting on Saturday near the historic city of Aksum, where TPLF forces launched a counteroffensive against Ethiopian troops and fighters from the government-allied Tigray Peace Forces (TPF).
According to the TPLF-affiliated Dimtsi Weyane television station, the fighting took place in the Daero Hafash and May Tmqet areas of Naeder district.
The broadcaster reported that two regimental commanders were among the 500 combatants killed, while another 800 soldiers sustained serious injuries.
Government troops reportedly advanced from Aksum and Mahbere Dego before encountering heavy resistance from TPLF fighters, who claimed to have repelled the offensive and inflicted substantial losses.
The rebel group also claimed to have captured several positions and seized weapons, ammunition, food supplies and medical equipment abandoned during the fighting.
The TPLF accused Ethiopian federal forces of deploying artillery and drones against its positions. It also reported disruptions to telephone and internet services in the affected areas.
The Ethiopian government has not publicly responded to the latest casualty claims, which could not be independently verified.
The reported clashes mark another escalation in weeks of renewed fighting between federal forces and Tigrayan rebels, threatening to plunge northern Ethiopia into another prolonged conflict.
Ethiopian government troops and allied forces captured several strategic towns in early October, including Mekelle, the regional capital, but TPLF fighters have continued launching counterattacks in an effort to regain lost territory.
The fighting has also intensified tensions between Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea, with Addis Ababa accusing Asmara of supporting armed groups operating in Tigray.
Eritrea has denied the allegations.
The renewed conflict threatens to unravel the fragile peace established after the devastating 2020–2022 Tigray war, which killed large numbers of people, displaced millions and devastated infrastructure across northern Ethiopia.
Despite the 2022 peace agreement, disputes over security arrangements, territorial control and the disarmament of rebel forces have continued to fuel instability in the region.
