Shortly after the signing of the Mekele ceasefire agreement, Ethiopian Radio reported renewed conflicts between OLF and EPRDF forces in some parts of Southern Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) on April 19 quoted Hayalom Araya, the southern commander of the EPRDF, as saying that the OLF had launched a surprise attack in two areas in Sidamo province.
According to Hayelom, 126 OLF fighters were killed, 10 wounded and 15 captured during attacks on the towns of Mechara and Michita in Sidamo province some 250 km south of Addis Abeba. EPRDF casualties were officially reported as two dead and two injured.
The OLF has vigorously denied reports that its units had launched the attacks on the EPRDF. “The incidents … were in fact touched off by the EPRDF as a camouflage for its own intrigues,” the OLF said in a statement carried by ENA.