Ethiopian soldiers attack Tigray forces in Mekele; airstrikes target weapon facilities

For the second time this week, Ethiopian federal government soldiers attacked Mekele, the capital of Ethiopia's troubled Tigray region, on Wednesday. Ethiopia's government said that it targeted weapons manufacturing and repair facilities.

The conflict in Africa's second-most populous country has raged on for nearly a year between Ethiopian allied forces and Tigrayan forces, who had long dominated the national government before a spat with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Amit Abrha, a site worker, said that she didn't hear the airstrike coming and claimed that she fell when it happened. She said that she was taken up by a group of people. And when the explosions persisted, she stepped outside and saw a person she knew, injured and on the ground. There were no early reports of deaths in Mekele as a result of the Wednesday airstrikes.

The attack occurred just two days after Ethiopia's air force confirmed airstrikes in Mekele

The attack occurred just two days after Ethiopia's air force confirmed airstrikes in Mekele that killed three children. Communication towers and equipment were reportedly targeted, according to the air force. Since June, when Tigray forces retook much of the province in a dramatic shift in the war, Mekele not seen a fight. The airstrikes have reawakened fears in a besieged city, where doctors and others have reported run short of medications and other necessities.

Despite requests from the United Nations and others to provide basic services and humanitarian relief to Tigray's 6 million people, Ethiopia's government labelled those demands "absurd" last week. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, exacerbating an already dangerous situation.

U.N. humanitarian spokesman Saviano Abreu claims that there will most likely be a drop from nearly 530 to around 220 U.N. workers on the ground in Tigray. The decision is inextricably linked to the operational difficulties they have faced in recent months, as well as the tense security situation.

Airstrikes aimed to weaken Tigray's armed resistance

The airstrikes in Tigray's capital this week appear to be a part of the efforts to weaken Tigray's armed resistance, which has lately seen further gains in the eastern Amhara region, with fighting still occurring in some areas, according to the report. Control of the airspace, along with greater manpower, is one of the few remaining areas of military advantage for the federal government, according to International Crisis Group expert William Davison.

(Inputs from AP News)

Image: AP