MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2020) The Ethiopian air force on Monday launched an air strike on a neighborhood of Mekele, the capital of the country's northern Tigray region, amid tensions between the rebels of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and forces loyal to the Federal government, Redwan Hussein, a spokesman of the newly-established emergency task force on Tigray, said.
"Yes there was an airstrike at suburban Mekele," the official said as quoted by Anadolu news agency.
This information was also confirmed by Brig. Gen. Kitila Bulti, spokesman for the Ethiopian armed forces.
The officials did not specify regarding the target of the air strike and possible casualties.
Earlier in November, the Ethiopian government accused TPLF forces of attacking a federal military base and launched an offensive in the northern region. The country's legislature approved the establishment of a provisional government in Tigray, while Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali said that law enforcement operations in the region were proceeding as planned and that they would cease only when the "criminal junta" is disarmed. A state of emergency was introduced in Tigray for a period of six months.
The TPLF has been in opposition to the incumbent government. In September, it asked the cabinet to hold local elections, which were earlier postponed over COVID-19. After the proposal was rejected, the party organized elections on its own which the central government never recognized as legitimate.
