Air strike hits capital of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region

Air strike hits capital of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region - local media, aid sources
August 26, 2022, 3:22 pm

An Ethiopian refugee fleeing from the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, walks past a world food program tent, at the Um-Rakoba camp, on the Sudan-Ethiopia border, in the Al-Qadarif state, Sudan November 23, 2020. (File photo: Reuters)

Multiple civilians, including children, died in an airstrike on a kindergarten in the capital of the war-torn Ethiopian province of Tigray, according to local media reports on Friday (August 26), Reuters said.

The attack occurred around 1 am (0000 GMT) in the city of Mek'ele. The number of dead and injured remains unknown, Reuters reported, the Anews said.

Fighting between the Ethiopian national army and fighters with the separatist Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has flared up again this week.

Fighting began in 2020, when the TPLF began efforts to break away from Ethiopia, prompting fighting that at times saw Tigray's borders shut to food and aid and, at other times, saw TPLF fighters threatening to assault Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital.

According to the media reports, the Ethiopian military was behind the attack on Mek'ele. However, there was no comment from the military.

The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan people. Formerly known as Region 1, its capital and largest city is Mekelle.

A government statement on Friday urged people in Tigray to keep their distance from military facilities, as some of those could be targeted.

UN peacekeepers from Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray seek asylum in Sudan

The government of Tigray consists of the executive branch, led by the president; the legislative branch, which comprises the state council; and the judicial branch, which is led by the state supreme court.

In early November 2020, a conflict between the Tigray Region, involving the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian federal government began, in which Eritrea took part on the side of the federal government,[7] rapidly escalating into the Tigray War and destabilizing the region.

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