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World

Ethiopian government says it has recaptured Lalibela, U.N. World Heritage site

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Ethiopian soldiers ride on a truck near the town of Adigrat, Tigray region, Ethiopia, March 18, 2021. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

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ADDIS ABABA, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Ethiopian government forces and their regional allies have recaptured the town of Lalibela – a United Nations World Heritage Site – from Tigrayan forces, the prime minister’s office said on Wednesday.

Forces aligned with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front had taken control of the town, in the Amhara region, in early August.

“The historic town of Lalibela has been liberated and cleared off TPLF occupation,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office said in a tweet.

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TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda could not be immediately reached for comment.

Lalibela is home to ancient rock-hewn churches and a holy site for millions of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians.

Earlier in the day, Abiy’s office said government soldiers supported by regional forces had recaptured territory from rebellious Tigrayan fighters.

The reported gains in Amhara follow news over the weekend that government troops had retaken Chifra town in Afar region after Abiy left the capital Addis Ababa to direct fighting from the frontlines.

Gains by the military in Afar and Amhara would be a blow to Tigrayan forces, who had threatened to either advance further southwards through Amhara and march on the capital, or head eastwards and threaten a road linking landlocked Ethiopia to the region’s main port.

The year-old conflict between the federal government and the leadership of the northern region of Tigray has killed thousands of civilians, forced millions to flee their homes, and made more than 9 million people dependent on food aid.

Abiy’s office said Ethiopian soldiers now controlled the town of Shewa Robit, 220 km (136 miles) northeast of Addis Ababa, and eight other towns and villages. It said Mezezo, Molale, Rasa areas were liberated from TPLF forces.

The TPLF spokesman Getachew was not available for comment on those claims.

A resident in the village of Gragne Amba, 25 km (15 miles) southwest of Lalibela, said Tigrayan forces had left it on Tuesday.

“I thought they were joking and TPLF fighters said ‘Many of Abiy’s soldiers are coming,'” she told Reuters. “This morning we saw Amhara special forces. They told us they are here for us and they tried to comfort us.”

She said the Amhara forces had left in the direction of Lalibela on Wednesday morning, and residents coming from that direction said the Tigrayan forces had left there too.

Reuters spoke to two people who originally lived in Lalibela and fled the fighting. They said relatives had called and said Tigrayan forces had left the town. The phone network in the town was down, they said, but relatives were able to go to an area near the airport that had mobile phone reception.

Reuters was unable to reach anyone in Lalibela to independently confirm those accounts. Government spokesman Legesse Tulu said he was awaiting information from the military.

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Editing by William Maclean; Editing by Angus MacSwan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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World

Lalibela, Ethiopia: UN fears revered Christian and tourist site is in peril

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(CNN) — They’re one greatest cultural and religious treasures not only in Ethiopia but also in Africa and in Christendom: the ancient rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.

In a statement released Friday, UNESCO called for “the respect of all relevant obligations under international law in ensuring the protection of … this precious site by refraining from any act that may expose it to damage, and by taking all necessary precautions to prevent any attempts of looting and pillaging cultural properties located in the area.”

UNESCO stated, “Lalibela is a place of pilgrimage, devotion and peace: it should not be a place for instigating violence and conflict.”

History and unusual architecture of Lalibela

The 11 medieval monolithic cave churches of this 13th-century “New Jerusalem” are in a mountainous region in northern Ethiopia, UNESCO said. They joined the World Heritage List in 1978 and are about 645 kilometers (about 400 miles) from the capital of Addis Ababa.

The structures were commissioned by King Lalibela of the Zagwe Dynasty, which ruled much of the country back in the 12th century. Nearly impossible to see at a distance, the impressive feat provided a safe space for Christians to hide from Muslim expansion from the north at the time.
Christianity here goes back many more centuries, though. It dates to the 4th century in this region, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is one of the oldest Christian organizations in the world.

The churches were hewn from monolithic blocks below ground level, according to UNESCO. These blocks were further chiseled out, forming windows and doors.

The famous churches have been built in a variety of styles.

Some of them were chiseled into the face of the rock, while others stand as isolated blocks, such as the church of Saint George, constructed in the shape of the cross.

A complex and extensive system of drainage ditches, tunnels and subterranean passageways connects the underground structures.

Following the faithful

In 2016, photographer Tariq Zaidi followed the pilgrim route in and around Lalibela.

He recalled the majesty of the architecture and beauty of the region, but most of all its people.

“They’re very poor, very humble,” he told CNN then. “They come for the pilgrimage hopefully once in their life if they can afford it. Many people have walked across the country, with almost nothing with them.”

Zaidi described the local community coming out to help pilgrims, feeding them and even helping to wash their feet.

“It’s very beautiful, poetic — even romantic — in a way very few things in our world are,” Zaidi said. “They all support each other.”

CNN’s Sara Dean and Forrest Brown contributed from current reporting, and Errol Barnett and Thomas Page contributed from previous CNN Travel articles.

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