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 10:13 pm” 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.
As with the previous attacks it was unclear where the rockets landed and what damage they might have caused.
Eritrea is one of the world’s most secretive countries and the government has not commented on the strikes.
CONFLICT ‘COMPLETED’
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.
The move marked a dramatic escalation of tensions between Abiy and the TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades before anti-government protests swept Abiy to office in 2018.
Thousands have died in the fighting and tens of thousands of refugees have streamed across the border into Sudan.
On Saturday night, Abiy declared military operations in Tigray “completed” after the army claimed control of the regional capital Mekele, a city of half a million before the conflict broke out.
Tigray has been under a communications blackout throughout the conflict and media access has been restricted making it impossible to verify Abiy’s claim.
Little news filtered out of the city on Sunday even through official channels.
A military spokesman, Gen Mohamed Tessema, said that operations were proceeding “very well” and that soldiers were “doing their work peacefully”, but said he could offer no details.
State television stuck to its usual Sunday programming of talk and music shows, while Tigray regional television did not appear to be broadcasting at all.
The lack of clarity on the situation in Mekele did not preclude some small-scale celebrations on Saturday night in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, and the city of Gondar, in the Amhara region south of Tigray. — AFP
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