A bloody conflict has been raging since November, but the statement from senior general Bacha Debele gave no timescale for the casualties. Correspondents say they may be from recent battles.

The general said a further 2,300 rebels had been injured, and 2,000 captured.

Millions of civilians face starvation due the conflict, the UN says.

Lt Gen Debele accused the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) of trying to break up Ethiopia, as the group made incursions into the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions.

One TPLF division had tried to gain control of Humera on the border between Tigray and Amhara, he said, but had been “completely decimated”.

There has been no response to the claims from the TPLF.

The war began last year after months of feuding between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and leaders of the TPLF, the main political party in the Tigray region.

The president sent troops to Tigray to overthrow the regional government after accusing the TPLF of being behind several attacks on military camps. (BBC)