New Airstrike Hits Capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray Region

Ethiopian forces carried out an airstrike Thursday on Mekelle, their third on the Tigray regional capital this week, as the government attempts to weaken the Tigrayan forces they’ve been fighting for almost a year.

Spokesman Legesse Tulu told reporters the airstrike targeted a training center for Tigrayan forces. He said the base previously was used by Ethiopian forces in the area.

There was no immediate word on casualties.

War erupted nearly a year ago between Ethiopian troops and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which governed Ethiopia for three decades but now rules only the northern Tigray region.

Mekelle has not seen large-scale fighting since June, when Ethiopian forces withdrew from the area and Tigray forces retook control of most of the region. Following that, the conflict continued to spill into the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar.

Last week, Tigray forces said the Ethiopian military had launched a ground offensive to push them out of Amhara and to recapture territory lost to them several months ago.

U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters Tuesday that U.N. colleagues “are alarmed at the intensification of the conflict and once again reminded all parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.”

Source: Voice of America