Nairobi, Kenya (AP) – The leader of Ethiopia’s rebel Tigre region has confirmed the launch of missiles at neighboring Eritrea’s capital and is making further threats, a major increase in deadly fighting in northern Ethiopia between the Tigre military and the federal government. .
In a phone interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, Tigre’s regional president, Debrecen Gabremischel, did not say how many missiles were fired at the city of Asmara on Saturday, but said it was the only Eritrean city targeted.
“As long as the troops are fighting, we will take any legitimate military target and we will fire,” he said, dismissing reports that Eritrea had sent troops into the Tigris region and that Tigris regional forces had entered Eritrea.
“We will fight on all fronts with whatever means they have,” he said. He insisted that about 16 Eritrean divisions were fighting in what he called a “full-blown war.”
The ensuing civil war in Ethiopia between a regional government that once dominated the country’s ruling coalition, and the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister, whose revised reforms marginalized the power of the Tigris region, could destabilize U.S. security allies and destabilize Africa. Will be able to. , With the prospect of sending thousands of refugees to Sudan.
At least three rockets appeared to be aimed at the airport In the Eritrean capital, Asmara, the Tigre regional government on Saturday warned it could launch an attack. Eritrea has accused Ethiopia of attacking it at the invitation of the Ethiopian government after the conflict broke out when a federal military base in the Tigris region was attacked by regional forces on November 4.
In a security alert, U.S. forces in Eritrea The embassy said “a series of loud noises were heard in Asmara on Saturday night” and “unconfirmed reports indicate that they may have been explosive devices believed to be near Asmara International Airport.” There is no sign of the airport being hit. “
The Tigre regional leader would not say how many missiles remain at the disposal of his troops but said: “We have a lot. We can use it selectively, anywhere. Asked about possibly targeting Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, he replied: “I don’t want to tell you, but the missiles are also long-range.”
Eritrean officials did not respond to requests for comment, and there was no immediate comment from Ethiopia’s federal government on the missile attack.
The Tigers leader said he had no contact with Ethiopia’s federal government. The African Union is pushing for a ceasefire, he said, “but the prime minister is not ready to listen. He believes in the power he has. He called it a “really messy situation” that needed international intervention. “
Tigre’s heavily armed regional government broke away from Ethiopia’s ruling coalition last year, and it has objected to postponing national elections until next year, which would extend Prime Minister Abi Ahmed’s rule. In September, regional elections were held in defiance of Abiya.
Each side denounces the other as illegal, and the federal government now says members of the Tigris region’s ruling “group” must now be arrested and their arsenal destroyed. Abijah calls it “law enforcement action” while his military officers call it war.
The Tigre leader told the AP he did not have the exact number of people killed in the fighting but said there was “a very large displacement.” The combat is all attacking, in addition to air strikes. He added, “We have to defend ourselves, you know?”
The Tigre region is comprised of Ethiopian forces, Eritrea and Sudan, which have closed its borders, but allow refugees.
The Tigre leader said his government, the Tigre People’s Liberation Front, had not channeled any communications with Eritrea even before the conflict. There are differences between the two sides after a long and deadly border war, which ended after Abiya took power in 2018.
Abi has rejected requests for immediate de-escalation by the international community, as his government refuses to consider him as an entity to negotiate with the TPLF.
Getachu Redda, another senior TPLF official, said in a statement posted on social media that the Ethiopian prime minister was now preparing to support a UAE drone based in Asab (Eritrean city) in a devastating war against the Tigris. “He did not provide any evidence to substantiate the claim.
The United Nations and others have warned of a catastrophic humanitarian catastrophe About 25,000 Ethiopian refugees, hungry and frightened, have fled the Tigris region to Sudan. Communications and transport links with the Tigris region are almost completely severed and millions are at risk as food, fuel and other supplies run low.
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