The Ethiopian army has regained control of the city of Lalibela, famous for its rock-cut churches.
The news was broadcast by the state media, showing photos from the visit of the deputy prime minister to the region.
It is not clear when government forces recaptured the iconic city of Lalibela, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is of spiritual importance to millions of Orthodox Ethiopian Christians. The city has changed hands several times during a clash with rebel forces in the northern province of Tigray.
Troops from Tigray province captured it in August, but were repulsed by government troops in early December in an ongoing offensive that forced Tigray rebels to withdraw hundreds of miles away.
Last Sunday, residents reported that Tigray rebels had recaptured the city following the withdrawal of the army and its allies.
The year-long conflict between the Tigray rebel leadership and the central government has killed thousands of civilians and spread to neighboring Amhara and Afar areas after the incursion of Tigray rebel forces into them.
It has also driven 400,000 people to starvation in Tigray province, with more than 9.4 million people in northern Ethiopia now dependent on food aid, according to the United Nations.
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