Air
strikes hit the capital of northern Ethiopia's Tigray region on Monday killed
at least three and injured several civilians, Tigrai TV reported.
Tigrai
TV said the attack on the city of Mekelle was carried out by "Abiy
Ahmed", referring to Ethiopia's prime minister and the government forces
he leads.
The
military and the prime minister's spokesperson did not immediately respond to
requests by Reuters for comment.
An
aid worker in Tigray said there had been air strikes in Mekelle. Reuters was
unable to verify the reports in an area that is off-limits for journalists.
Humanitarian
officials confirmed that with AFP. "Airstrike now in Mekele," one
humanitarian official in the city said via SMS to AFP on condition of anonymity.
The attacks were also confirmed by a second humanitarian source, two diplomats
and a rebel spokesman.
'Designed
to inflict civilian casualties'
The
first air raid occurred in the morning ion the outskirts of Mekele near a
cement factory, the sources said. The second took place around midday in the
city center near the Planet Hotel, which is often used by top officials from
the TPLF. The TPLF said the aerial assaults were designed to inflict civilian
casualties.
#AbiyAhmed’s ‘Air Force’ sent its bomber jet to attack civilian targets in& outside #Mekelle. Monday is market day in #Mekelle & the intention is all too palpable. While they are losing big in what they dubbed as a final offensive against Tigray, they will obviously continue to
— Getachew K Reda (@reda_getachew) October 18, 2021
"While they are losing big in what they dubbed as a final offensive against Tigray, they will obviously continue to target civilians in a desperate move to exact revenge on the people of Tigray," TPLF spokesman Getachew K Reda said on Twitter.
The
Ethiopian military and its allies have been fighting forces from the northern
region of Tigray for nearly a year.
By News sources
0 Comments