The capital of the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia was the target of an airstrike on Tuesday night, just hours after rebels in the area announced that they intended to continue with the “counter-offensive”.
After a five-month truce, hostilities resumed on August 24 in the southeastern end of Tigray between Ethiopian pro-government troops and rebels in the northern region, the scene of a war since November 2020.
“Night drone attack on Mekele. No conceivable military target,” wrote Getachew Reda, spokesman for the rebel Tigre Popular Liberation Front (TPFL) on Twitter.
“Mekele hospital is among the targets, at least three bombs were dropped,” he added.
Kibrom Gebreselassie, clinical director of the Ayder referral hospital in Mekele, also reported on Twitter about a drone attack “close to midnight” in the vicinity of the general hospital in Mekele.
“Victims are arriving at Ayder Hospital,” he said.
The attack came just days after the death of four people, including children, in another bombing in Mekele, in which rebels accused the government of attacking a residential area and a kindergarten.
The press does not have access to northern Ethiopia, making it impossible to verify information with independent sources.
A few hours before the attack, rebel spokesman Getachew Reda said his troops, after defending their positions, had launched a counter-offensive beyond Tigre’s borders.
“We have started a defensive war and we remain open to negotiation,” said the spokesman, while justifying the counteroffensive to “neutralize” the military reinforcements sent by the government to northern Ethiopia.
On Tuesday, the Ethiopian government highlighted its “efforts in favor of peace and the concrete measures adopted” in this regard. He also stated that he is “determined to resolve the conflict peacefully.”
In recent days, according to diplomatic and humanitarian sources, in addition to the inhabitants of the region, the rebels have advanced almost 50 kilometers to the south in the region of Amhara and to the southeast towards the region of Afar.
“We are not particularly interested in controlling this area, but as long as the forces deployed against us continue to threaten the security of our people, we will continue to take appropriate measures to neutralize them,” said spokesman Getachew.
The conflict in Tigre began in November 2020, when the Ethiopian prime minister sent the army to oust the regional government. According to Ahmed, his authority was being challenged for months through attacks on military bases in the region.
This conflict left an incalculable number of dead and forced two million people to leave their homes.
The truce that began in March avoided some of the bloodshed and allowed aid convoys to slowly return to Tigre, where the UN says thousands of people are starving.
The crisis in Tigré causes concern in the international community and, since the end of the truce, the UN, the European Union (EU) and the United States have called for an end to hostilities and a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
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