On Oct 19, 2022, a Facebook post was made sharing an image with a claim that the Ethiopian armed forces took control of the towns of Aksum and Selekhlekha. The first picture shows two men who wear the uniform of the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) walking and the obelisks of Aksum shown behind them. The other two depict persons carrying light weapons.
HaqCheck inspected the images to see if they support the claim and confirmed that one of the pictures was old and doesn’t prove the Ethiopian armed forces took control of the towns. Thus, the post was rated Partly false.
After months of tension, the federal government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) went to war on Nov 3, 2020.
The federal government allied with other regional armed forces removed TPLf from Mekelle and other major Tigayan towns after three weeks of conventional war.
However, the conflict became protracted as the TPLF resorted to guerrilla warfare.
After months, the federal government together with the provisional administration of Tigray declared a humanitarian ceasefire and withdrew its forces from Mekelle and other towns.
Thereafter, TPLF armed forces took control of the areas and advanced southward seizing territories in the Amhara and Afar regional states.
As the Ethiopian military and allied regional forces launched a counterattack against TPLF, the federal government regained the captured areas of the Amhara and Afar regions.
On March 24, 2022, the Ethiopian government declared a truce and it was adopted by the TPLF.
There were informal talks between the parties to reach a peace pact with the help of the African Union and the United States.
On Aug 16, 2022, TPLF announced that the federal government already violated the cessation of hostilities jointly declared at the end of March. The TPLF said that the armed forces of the federal government fired artillery and attacked its forces.
It further stated that the main intention of the attacks by the federal government was to launch an integrated attack on the western front.
On the other hand, the Ethiopian government asserted that the TPLF resumed the fighting.
Sooner TPLF leaders also announced that there had been full-scale attacks around the Tigray region.
The Ethiopian government said that it controlled the Shire, Tigray region and began humanitarian aid delivery into captured areas.
In this context, a Facebook post emerged on Nov 19, 2022, sharing three images with a claim that the Ethiopian armed forces seized the town of Aksum and Selekhlekha.
However, one of the pictures was old and doesn’t prove the claim. The image was first published on a website on Feb 19, 2021.
Yet, Haqcheck could not confirm whether or not the second and third pictures support the claim.Therefore, the post was rated Partly False.
