Tigray drone strike kills four, residents say

A drone strike killed four people, including two children, in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, two residents told AFP on Wednesday.

A priest living near Finarwa, about 85 kilometres southwest of the Tigrayan capital Mekelle, said the strike hit goat traders late Tuesday while they were loading goats onto a vehicle. He said five other people were injured.

Another resident gave the same death toll and said people struggled to take the wounded to hospital because there was no ambulance.

The information has not been independently verified. The Ethiopian federal army spokesperson had not responded to AFP.

The reported strike came after weeks of clashes between Tigrayan rebels and federal forces. Conflict monitor ACLED says Ethiopian federal forces carried out numerous drone strikes in Tigray in August and September, usually targeting members of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, and that civilians were also killed.