Tigray targets Eritrea as Ethiopia claims victory
addis ababa — Rockets launched from Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region targeted the capital of Eritrea several hours after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared military operations in the region were over, diplomats said on Sunday.
It remained impossible to independently verify whether the regional capital Mekele was completely under federal government control, though a military spokesman said operations were proceeding “very well”.
The US embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara reported early on Sunday “six explosions” had occurred in the city “at about 10.13pm” on Saturday. Two Addis Ababa-based diplomats said multiple rockets appeared to have targeted Asmara’s airport and military installations.
It marked the third time Asmara has come under fire from Tigray since Abiy ordered military operations against leaders of the region’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The TPLF has claimed responsibility only for the first attack two weeks ago.
It said Asmara was a legitimate target because Ethiopia was enlisting Eritrean military support for its campaign in Tigray, something Ethiopia denies.
The head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Sunday he hoped promises of humanitarian access to Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region by the Ethiopian authorities would be granted as soon as possible.
“It is not possible yet, so I hope it will develop in the next few days,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told an online news conference from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
Abiy, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, announced November 4 he was sending federal troops into Tigray in response to attacks by pro-TPLF forces on federal army camps. —