A video circulating on various social media platforms such as Telegram and Facebook claimed that the video shows TPLF’s prisoners of war recently captured during the ongoing fighting that resumed on Aug 24, 2022.
The video was circulating with a description that the pictured women in the video are TPLF soldiers who voluntarily surrendered in the resumed fighting on the Raya front. It was shared and watched by thousands on various platforms.
However, HaqCheck confirmed that the video doesn’t show TPLF soldiers who voluntarily surrendered in the ongoing fighting. The video is old and was shared on Facebook on Dec 12, 2021. Thus, the claim is rated False.
War broke out on the evening of Dec 3, 2020, between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government of Ethiopia after months of tensions and stand-off.
The federal government of Ethiopia joined with the Eritrean government and other regional governments managed to oust TPLF from Mekelle and other major towns of Tigray after three weeks of conventional fighting.
However, the conflict became protracted and continued as TPLF resorted to guerrilla warfare. The federal government of Ethiopia together with the then Tigray interim administration declared a humanitarian ceasefire and withdrew armed forces from many parts of the Tigray regional state.
Immediately, TPLF armed forces controlled the regional capital city of Mekelle and other areas.
Nonetheless, the fighting continued as TPLF advanced its forces toward the adjacent regional states of Afar and Amhara. The TPLF armed forces controlled many territories including major towns of the Amhara region that are very close to Addis Ababa.
As the Ethiopian military and other allied forces launched a counterattack against the TPLF armed forces, the federal government regained the territories in the Amhara and Afar regional states that were taken into control by the belligerent in the months of November and December last year.
On March 24, 2022, the Ethiopian government declared a cessation of hostilities with the TPLF. The TPLF instantly confirmed that it accepted the declaration of cessation of hostilities by the federal government.
Peace talks had been on the way as third parties tried to mediate between the Ethiopian government and TPLF. The African Union assigned former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, Special envoy of the African Union to the Horn of Africa to facilitate a potential peace talk between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF. Obasanjo had been back and forth meeting senior leaders of the belligerents trying to facilitate talks between them.
Later on, TPLF announced that it has no confidence in Obasanjo. The TPLF said that Obasanjo is not imperial and competent enough to lead potential peace talks and negotiations with the Ethiopian government.
On Aug 16, 2022, the 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 artilleries and attacked its forces.
On the early morning of Aug 24, 2022, the TPLF stated that the federal government had launched attacks against its armed forces in the southern Tigray areas.
It further announced that the main intention of the attacks by the federal government was to launch integrated attacks on the western front.
The federal government announced that the TPLF started the attack.
Against this backdrop, a viral video post came out with a claim that it shows TPLF troops voluntarily surrendered during the resumed fighting.
HaqCheck looked into the video and confirmed that it was old and doesn’t prove the claim.
The video was found shared on Facebook nine months ago on Dec 12, 2021. The description in the footage claimed that the women were TPLF soldiers who were forcefully conscripted and surrendered during the war with the federal-led allied forces.Therefore, HaqCheck rated the claim FALSE as the video doesn’t show TPLF prisoners of war captured during the ongoing fighting between the TPLF and the Ethiopian government that resumed on Aug 24, 2022.
