Ethiopian Airstrikes Hit Capital of Tigray Province

Mekelle, capital city of Ethiopia’s rebellious Tigray province, was reportedly hit by airstrikes on Monday while ground forces from the central government moved against Tigrayan fighters in the neighboring province of Amhara.

Local media controlled by the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the main political party and militia force in Tigray, claimed several civilians were injured when an airstrike hit close to a crowded market and hotel.

One report featured local eyewitnesses who said at least three people were killed, describing them as three children from the same family.

Tigrayan media said the airstrikes were personally ordered by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Humanitarian officials and foreign diplomats confirmed the attack took place. The TPLF said Abiy would have known Monday was “market day” in Mekelle, so his intention to inflict civilian casualties was “all too palpable.”

Legesse Tulu, a spokesman for the central government, denied any strikes were launched at the Tigrayan capital.

“Why would the Ethiopian government attack its own city? Mekelle is an Ethiopian city. Terrorists are the ones who attack cities with innocent civilians in them, not the government,” Tulu said on Monday.

“There is no reason, or no plan, to strike civilians in Mekelle, which is a part of Ethiopia, and home to our own citizens. This is an absolute lie. It is a total and absolute lie of the TPLF junta, just to misguide the international community, to create pressure on the Ethiopian state,” Tulu insisted.

The TPLF said on Monday that Ethiopian military units and allied ethnic militia began an offensive to dislodge Tigrayan forces from Amhara.

Refugees from Amhara accused TPLF fighters of perpetrating atrocities when they pushed across the provincial border in July, including stealing food and medicine from the locals and committing sexual assault against Amharan women.

Conversely, the U.N. has accused Ethiopian government forces of blocking shipments of humanitarian aid into Tigray despite reports of widespread malnutrition.

The BBC noted on Saturday that U.N. officials are reluctant to declare an official “famine” in northern Ethiopia, preferring delicately-worded evasions such as “famine-like conditions,” because they fear angering the Abiy government and making it even less willing to allow humanitarian assistance into the rebellious province.