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In the conflict over Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the country’s armed forces attacked the capital of Tigray, according to a regional media report. Mekelle “is being bombarded with heavy artillery,” Tigray TV, which is affiliated with the former regional government of the Popular Liberation Front (TPLF), said on Saturday.
The office created by the central government for the Tigray crisis said that the TPLF had always fabricated accusations that the central government was attacking cities, towns and places of civilians from the air. The armed forces would only target TPLF military targets and weapons depots; they would not attack civilian facilities such as schools or residential areas and would have prevented explosions in densely populated areas.
On Friday, a high-ranking member of the military, Hassen Ibrahim, told state broadcaster FANA that the military had seized several strategically important locations outside of Mekelle.
More than three weeks ago, Ethiopia’s central government launched an offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which is in power in the northern Tigray region. Little is known about the local situation, as the Internet, telephone connections and electricity are largely cut off. According to UNHCR, more than 43,000 people have fled to neighboring Sudan and aid organizations are warning of a humanitarian disaster in Tigray. Various voices in the international community have called for a ceasefire, including recently the EU Parliament.
The background to the conflict is growing tensions between Tigray and the central government. The TPLF ruled Ethiopia for more than 25 years until Abiy came to power in 2018 and overthrew the TPLF. Many people in Tigray feel that they are not represented by the central government and demand more autonomy. In the multi-ethnic state of Ethiopia, with around 112 million inhabitants, there are a number of ethnic tensions that have increased during the rule of Abiy.
(Alternative spellings: Mekele / Mek’ele)
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