New airstrike targets Ethiopia's Tigray
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A drone attack is claimed by Tigray rebels, further shattering the ceasefire agreement.
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Clashes between Addis Ababa and Tigray recommence after months of a fragile truce
Tigrayan rebels and hospital officials claim that the capital of Tigray region in northern Ethiopia was targeted Tuesday morning with a drone strike.
The spokesperson of Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Getachew Reda, announced the attack on Mekele in a Tweet this morning. "Abiy Ahmed's drones targeted MekelleUniversity Adi Haki campus," he claimed.
According to Kibrom Gebreselassie, a senior official at Tigray's Ayder hospital, the drone attack left one injury that arrived at Ayder hospital, adding that the total number of casualties is still unknown.
The alleged attack comes days after the TPLF announced it was ready for a conditional truce with Abiy's government followed by a peace process sponsored by the African Union.
On August 24, fighting commenced between the TPLF and Addis Ababa, after nearly a 5-month-truce since march.
Fighting has escalated in northern Tigray, where the Ethiopian army, supported by forces from neighboring Eritrea, is attacking rebel positions, according to diplomatic and foreign sources who requested anonymity
Tigray, in northern Ethiopia, is cut off from the rest of the country and without power, telecommunications networks, banking services, or petrol.
The delivery of humanitarian aid by road and air has also been completely interrupted since the fighting resumed. This return to hostilities "is already affecting the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable people, including the delivery of vital humanitarian assistance" in Afar, Amhara, and Tigray, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on September 9.
