Igor G. Barbero

🇪🇹 ETHIOPIA WAR UPDATE 6 📍 The Ethiopian army arrested three of its colonels for allegedly working secretly with the Alliance for Survival (AFS) rebel forces. 📍 LALIBELA: Tourists stranded. Ethiopian military forces are inside Lalibela, while AFS forces remain on the outskirts. More than 50 international tourists are stranded in the city, with flights suspended. 📍 Tigray faces a complete economic and communications shutdown. The Ethiopian government has suspended bank accounts opened in Tigray, freezing people’s access to their money. There are now no flights, no telephone services, no internet and no access to money. The move is drawing widespread condemnation as collective punishment of civilians. 📍 KOBO: Major battle. AFS forces launched a massive attack on Kobo, backed by heavy artillery. The Ethiopian army counterattacked with a very large infantry force backed by heavy airpower. An extremely bloody battle took place today & the army pushed AFS forces back. During the counterattack, the Ethiopian army claimed to have captured 13 locations. The army is now shelling Alamata. At least 15 civilians were killed in an artillery strike at a marketplace. 📍 AFAR: Another major battlefield. Heavy and bitter fighting is underway across Afar, with the Ethiopian army deploying significant airpower in the region. The outcome of today's fighting remains unclear. 📍 AFS forces are fighting across multiple fronts. AFS forces are scattered across different areas rather than concentrated on a single battlefield. This is putting pressure on Ethiopian army supply and logistical lines, forcing the military to use airpower heavily across several fronts. 📍 SEKOTA: Fighting continues. AFS forces pulled back from parts of Sekota following Ethiopian military counterattacks. The Ethiopian army carried out around 40 drone strikes in the city. Sekota remains divided, with large areas under government control and other sections held by AFS forces. Yesterday’s battlefield developments favored AFS and allied forces. Today, the momentum has shifted toward the Ethiopian government forces. 📍 A holiday under war. Today is Meskel, one of Ethiopia’s major religious celebrations. Sadly, this year’s celebrations are taking place under the shadow of war, as fighting continues across the country. ⚠️ The battlefield situation remains fluid and territorial claims are difficult to independently verify due to telephone blackouts.