Ethiopia: Tigray forces released captive civilians, not soldiers
A new twist in the Tigray conflict has emerged after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front said it was releasing soldiers it has detained but the Ethiopian government said most of those released were civilians and not soldiers.
The Tigray forces who are fighting Ethiopia's federal army on Saturday released 4,208 prisoners, including 401 women in an amnesty grant, claiming they were prisoners of war (POWs) – soldiers captured during the war.
The move came amid an escalating war of words between Tigray and the Federal Government, raising fears of renewed hostilities in the country's North.
Birhane Kebede, coordinator of the prisoners' centre in the Tigray region, said most of the POWs were captured during fighting outside of the Tigray region, and others joined the fight in a “forced conscription”.
The Tigray official said those who suffered illness or serious injuries during fighting, and women who gave birth while in detention were given priority for the release.
However, in a statement, the Ethiopian Government Communication Service on Sunday said most of the released captives were not POWs but civilians who were abducted in several parts of Amhara and Afar regions, as well as in Tigray following army's withdrawal from region last June.
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