Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region was hit by an air strike on Tuesday, a Tigrayan rebel spokesman and a hospital official confirmed on Twitter, reported The Africa News.
Kibrom Gebreselassie, the chief executive officer of Ayder Hospital, said the air strike bombed the business campus of Mekelle University and Dimitsi Woyane TV station, which is run by the regional Tigray government.
“One injured person has arrived at Ayder hospital. The total number of victims is not yet known,” Gebreselassie wrote.
Getachew Reda, a spokesman for the Tigray rebels, accused the Ethiopia’s government of being behind the air raid.
The strike comes two days after the Tigray rebel group said they were ready to participate in peace talks with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government led by the African Union (AU), removing an obstacle to potential negotiations to end almost two years of fighting.
Until recently, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) had opposed the role of the AU’s Horn of Africa envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, protesting against his proximity to Ethiopian Prime Minister Ahmed.
The fighting in Ethiopia’s northern region resumed after a five-month truce on August 24, with both sides blaming each other. Fighting erupted around the town of Kobo.
The rebels accuse the Ethiopian and Eritrean armies of launching a joint offensive from Eritrea, which borders northern Tigray, and previously assisted Ethiopia’s forces in the first phase of the conflict.
Since November 2020 when Abiy sent troops to Tigray, the war has displaced millions of people, pushed parts of the region into famine and killed thousands of civilians. The conflict has also spilled into the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar.
The TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s national politics for nearly three decades until Prime Minister Ahmed came to power in 2018. The TPLF accuses Abiy of centralizing power at the expense of Ethiopia’s regions. Abiy denies this and accuses the TPLF of trying to reclaim power.
