Ethiopia: Rebel Forces in Ethiopia's Tigray State Condemn Army Drone Strikes
[RFI] Rebel authorities on Tuesday accused the Ethiopian government of carrying out deadly drone strikes in southern Tigray state and condemned the move as "a serious escalation", amid fears of a new war.
Rebel authorities in Ethiopia's Tigray state have condemned the government for conducting deadly drone strikes in the region, alleging the attacks caused human casualties. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) made the accusations in a statement sent to AFP, though they did not provide further details. According to Amanuel Assefa, a TPLF official, the drone strike occurred in Merewa, a southern Tigrayan town near the border with the Amhara region, on Monday.
The federal army's spokesperson has not yet responded to AFP's request for comment on the accusations. Tensions between federal and Tigrayan forces have been high for months, with both sides accusing each other of attempting to spark a new conflict. Fighting broke out in northwestern Tigray, near Sudan's border, on August 1, according to the TPLF.
The federal government has not commented on this incident. Tigray, with a population of around 6 million, emerged from a two-year war with the federal army in 2022. The conflict resulted in at least 600,000 casualties, according to an African Union estimate. A peace agreement signed in November 2022 ended the fighting, but several crucial issues, such as the return of displaced people or the disarmament of the TPLF, remain unresolved.
Written by urgent.news from AllAfrica's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
