Ethiopian airstrikes continue to target Tigrayan insurgents

Smoke at the scene of an earlier airstrike in Mekele, the capital of the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, on Wednesday. Photograph: AP

Ethiopia has launched two airstrikes in Tigray, as the government conducts a nearly week-long aerial bombardment campaign against the rebel groups that control the majority of the region.

On Sunday, an attack hit the western district of Mai Tsebri, targeting a Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) training location, according to government spokesman Legesse Tulu. The government said in a statement that one of the bombs damaged a military-industrial site controlled by the TPLF in the northern town of Adwa.

"I can confirm that a successful airstrike was carried out in Mai Tsebri, targeting a training site for TPLF illegal recruits and a heavy artillery depot," Legesse stated.

Because communications throughout most war-torn Tigray are down, it was impossible to verify the claim right away.

Getachew Reda, a TPLF spokesman, told Reuters that he had confirmed with colleagues that an airstrike had hit near a hospital in Mai Tsebri. Getachew stated he was unaware of any casualties and that he had no information regarding the Adwa strike. "The government portrays Tigray as a training ground for the entire country. We don't have all these training centers, so it doesn't make sense."

"Today in Adwa, an airstrike destroyed a center that the terrorist group TPLF was using to manufacture military equipment," the government communications service stated in a statement on Facebook.

For almost a year, Ethiopian federal forces and TPLF-aligned forces have been battling a conflict that has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 2 million.

Thousands of Eritreans are housed at the Mai Aini and Adi Harush refugee camps, close to Mai Tsebri. The strike, according to Legesse, had little impact on the camps.

Requests for a response from Ethiopia's Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees were not immediately responded to.

Publish : 2021-10-24 19:50:00

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