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Image posted, AFP
This conflict forced thousands to flee their lands to Sudan
The Ethiopian government said local forces in the northern province of Tigray “fired projectiles at the airport area,” causing damage.
The Tigrayan front did not confirm the launch of the missiles, but said, according to an Agence France-Presse report, that any “airport used to attack Tigray” would be a “legitimate target.”
The government emergency authority said in a tweet on Twitter that the projectiles fell on the cities of Bahir Dar and Gondar in Amra state, adding that “the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front is using the last of its weapons, and the government has opened an investigation into the incident. ”
Image posted, Reuters
Reuters quoted an official as saying that one shell struck and damaged Gondar airport, and a second shell landed outside the Bahir Dar airport.
The two airports are used for civil and military purposes.
The fighting is feared to spread from the Northern Territory to other parts of the country.
Renewed fighting in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military operation against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front earlier this month, after accusing the militants of attacking a military center that houses federal forces, which the front denies.
Subsequently, the tension between the two parties turned into military clashes and air strikes.
The battles led thousands of civilians to cross the border into Sudan, which it said would open camps to house them.
Hundreds of people are believed to have died in the conflict, as Amnesty International said it had confirmed that up to hundreds of people were stabbed to death in the city of Mai Kadra, in the southwestern region of Tigray province, on 4 November.
It is difficult to verify the veracity and veracity of the news from there, due to the interruption of telephone and Internet services.
Is there a mass slaughter in Tigray?
Amnesty International said evidence shows that “many” people were killed and others stabbed to death in attacks in the city of Mai Kadra.
He said he saw horrifying photos and videos of bodies dumped in the city or carried on stretchers.
Amnesty International reported that the victims appeared to be workers who were not involved in the conflict. It is not known where they came from.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said it would send a team to investigate the accusations of mass killings.
Abe accused forces loyal to the Tigrayans of committing massacres, saying they launched the attack after federal forces “liberated” the Gharyan region from Tigray.
Witnesses say the attacks were carried out by forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) after it was defeated by union forces in an area called Logy.
But the Tigray leader, Debrecian Gebremichael, told Agence France-Presse that the accusations were “unfounded” and that the Tigray government denied that his forces carried out the attack.
The United Nations human rights official warned that the killings could constitute war crimes.
Why fight between the government and the front?
Tensions began to rise some time ago, due to the deterioration of relations between the TPLF and the federal government.
The front dominated political and military life in Ethiopia for decades before Abe came to power in 2018 and instituted radical reforms in the country.
Last year, Abe dissolved the ruling coalition, made up of ethnic and regional parties, and merged them into a single national party called the Welfare Hub, which the Front refused to join.
The Tigray Region administration believes that Abe’s reforms aim to establish a centralized system of government that repeals the current federal government.
He also says he rejects what he calls the prime minister’s “anti-principle” friendship with Eritrea President Isaias Afwerki.
Abe won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for his efforts to make peace with his historic opponent, Eritrea.
The prime minister says that TPLF officials are challenging his authority.
Abe ordered the military operation against the front after he said his fighters had crossed “the last red line.”
He accused them of attacking a military facility that housed federal forces on November 4 and described the attack as “treason.” The Front denied having attacked the military center.
