Daily Mirror E-Paper

Air strike hits capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray

Smoke billows from the scene of an air strike in Mekelle (REUTERS)

DDIS ABABA, OCT 20 (REUTERS) - Ethiopia launched its third air strike this week on the capital of the northern Tigray region on Wednesday, stepping up a campaign to weaken rebellious Tigrayan forces in an almost yearold war.

Tigrai Television, controlled by the region’s Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), said the attack targeted the centre of the city of Mekelle but gave no details of casualties or damage.

Ethiopia’s government said the air strike targeted buildings where Tigrayan forces were repairing armaments. The TPLF has “been adept at hiding munitions and heavy artillery in places of worship and using ordinary Tigrayans as a human shield”, Ethiopia’s government spokesman, Legesse Tulu, said.

“They are desperate on the war front,” TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael said of the government forces.“my interpretation is they are bombing us because they are losing on the ground and it’s their reprisal. The fact that they are bombing shows they don’t care about Tigrayan civilians.”

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2021-10-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

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