Drone strike hits Tigray TV building amid renewed conflict in northern Ethiopia
A drone attack damaged Tigray TV headquarters in Mekelle as clashes escalate between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.
Key Takeaways
AIThe Tigray TV building in Mekelle, the capital of northern Ethiopia, was damaged in a drone strike targeting the region's main media outlet, according to reporters from the channel affiliated with Tigray authorities who spoke to Agence France-Presse.
The attack comes amid escalating hostilities in recent months between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, raising fears of a new war less than four years after a peace agreement ended a bloody conflict from 2020 to 2022 that killed at least 600,000 people, according to African Union estimates.
On Wednesday, TPLF rebels seized control of Mekelle airport and two other airports, advancing into the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions and declaring a "defensive war" against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
A humanitarian source reported that on Sunday, TPLF fighters took control of the town of Erebti in the Afar region as they moved toward the town of Afdera, about 100 kilometers to the east, estimating the number of displaced people in the region at around 150,000.
The offensive in Afar aims to cut off supply lines from Djibouti, which is the main entry point for international imports into Ethiopia, including fuel shipments.
In a related development, seven groups opposed to the federal government—including the TPLF, the Amhara Fano militia, and the Oromo Liberation Army—announced the formation of an alliance to overthrow the Addis Ababa government, vowing to launch "large-scale counterattacks" in response to federal forces' operations.