Ethiopia says 10,000 prisoners missing from town it took over in Tigray

Ethiopian forces have liberated a town in the northern Tigray region

The government’s emergency taskforce said accused local leaders of taking 10,000 prisoners from the town as they fled.

Tigray forces fired rockets into neighbouring Eritrea on Saturday, escalating a 13-day conflict which has killed hundreds on both sides, and threatens to destabilise other parts of Ethiopia and the horn of Africa.

As the Tigray’s ruling party militia were defeated in Alamata, they fled taking along around 10,000 prisoners.