FALSE: This image does not show the Eritrean soldiers destroying TPLF at Rama city, near Adwa
The images show the Military show at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi, 19 February 2017 and the two images were taken from SAWA Defence Training Center is a military academy in the Gash-Barka region of Eritrea.
An image shared on Facebook claiming to show Eritrean soldiers destroying TPLF Rama, near Adwa is FALSE.
The Amharic post accompanying the image translates, “Eritrean special forces capture TPLF invaders in Rama, near Adwa Eritrean special force has been known to push me forward for another victory.”
The conflict between the government of Ethiopia and forces in the northern Tigray region has been ongoing since November 2020. In recent months, the war in Tigray spread into the Amhara and Afar regions.
Fighting has escalated in Amhara, where the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the government both claim control over the territory. A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the air force was targeting a training centre used by the TPLF rebel group. On 28 October 2021, an Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) airstrike destroyed the second part of Mesfin Industrial Engineering in Mekelle, a facility used by TPLF for maintaining its military equipment.
Eritrean troops entered Tigray to fight alongside federal forces in a conflict marked by abuses, including rapes, according to investigations by the UN and rights groups. The Ethiopian government said in April that Eritrean troops had begun withdrawing.
Reports of TPLF capturing Kombolcha came a day after they claimed control of Dessie and if confirmed, it would mark a major advance by the TPLF in the nearly year-long war.
However, Google reverse image search shows that the picture shows the Military show at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi, 19 February 2017 (AFP). Also published on Middle East Eye that UAE’s futuristic cities and booming economy were built on foreign know-how and labour funded by petro dollars, and its military is no different.
In addition, the other two images were taken from The SAWA Defence Training Center, which is a military academy in the Gash-Barka region of Eritrea.
Arts tv has looked into an image shared on Facebook claiming to show the Eritrean soldiers destroying TPLF Rama, near Adwa and found it to be FALSE.
This fact-check was produced by Kindalem Mesfin in partnership with Code for Africa.