The Ethiopian army said Thursday that it had killed 272 Tigrayan rebel fighters who a day earlier had launched an offensive in Amhara region, in its first public comments since fighting broke out.

The Ethiopian National Defence Force said in a statement on Facebook that forces of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) rebels attacked several areas of North Wollo Zone, an area of Amhara that borders Tigray.

"Government forces launched a counter-offensive that inflicted heavy personnel and equipment losses on the TPLF," the army statement said, adding that the rebels suffered heavy casualties including "272 were killed and 260 were wounded".

A government official told Reuters that the TPLF had carried out a premeditated assault on civilian infrastructure, but stressed that the door to dialogue remained open for any groups that laid down their arms.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie said his country had exercised “immense restraint” despite what he described as interference by “adversarial elements.”

The African Union has called for restraint, saying the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, signed in November 2022, remains the foundation of the peace process.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the parties to de-escalate tensions and return to dialogue under the 2022 Pretoria agreement.