Conflict & Security
Tigray rebels accuse Ethiopia of drone strikes in Merewa
Rebel authorities in Ethiopia's Tigray state accused the Ethiopian government on Tuesday of carrying out drone strikes in Merewa, in southern Tigray near the border with the Amhara region, amid fears of renewed conflict.
Amanuel Assefa, a Tigray People's Liberation Front official, told AFP that the strike happened on Monday. In a statement sent to AFP, the TPLF said the strikes targeted Tigrayan troops and caused human casualties, but it gave no further details.
Amanuel also claimed the strikes hit a high school. AFP said it could not independently verify that claim. AFP said a spokesperson for the federal army had not responded to its request for comment on the accusations.
Federal and Tigrayan forces have gathered for several months on either side of the border of Ethiopia's northernmost regional state, with each side accusing the other of seeking to trigger a new conflict.
The TPLF said fighting on August 1 pitted federal forces against TPLF troops in northwestern Tigray, near the border with Sudan. The federal government has not commented on that matter.
Tigray, home to around six million people, emerged in 2022 from a two-year war between TPLF forces and the federal army, which was supported by local militias and the Eritrean army. The conflict claimed at least 600,000 lives, according to an African Union estimate.
A peace agreement signed in November 2022 ended the fighting, but several key points, including the return of displaced people and the disarmament of the TPLF, have not been implemented.
Update
The TPLF said the alleged strikes targeted Tigrayan troops and caused human casualties, without giving details.
Amanuel Assefa claimed the strikes hit a high school, which AFP said it could not independently verify.
AFP said a federal army spokesperson had not responded to its request for comment on the accusations.
The item adds recent context that the TPLF reported fighting with federal forces in northwestern Tigray on August 1, while the federal government had not commented.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 August 2026 at 06:52:54 UTC.
Update
A Tigray People's Liberation Front official, Amanuel Assefa, told AFP the alleged strike was carried out on Monday in Merewa, southern Tigray, near the Amhara region border.
Rebel authorities accused the Ethiopian government of carrying out deadly drone strikes and called the alleged action “a serious escalation”.
The accusation was made amid fears of a new war.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 August 2026 at 06:28:58 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The Ethiopian federal government and federal army had not commented on the accusations in the supplied material.
The number and type of casualties from the alleged strikes were not provided.
AFP said it could not independently verify the claim that a high school was hit.
The federal government had not commented on the TPLF's claim about August 1 fighting in northwestern Tigray.
Source
AFP news report published on .