Tigray rebels say drone hit Mekelle residential area

Tigray rebels said a drone hit a residential area in Mekelle, the regional capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, early Thursday, as tensions rise between Tigrayan and federal forces.

Amanuel Assefa, vice president of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which rules the region, told AFP that the drone struck the city but said he did not yet have casualty details. An AFP journalist in Mekelle said locals had confirmed the strike.

No responsibility for the reported strike was established in the available information.

The incident followed a drone strike near Mekelle on Tuesday that was not thought to have caused casualties. Rebel authorities had accused Ethiopia’s federal government of carrying out that earlier strike near Dandera village. Federal forces did not immediately comment on that accusation.

Tigrayan and federal forces have been massing on either side of the northern region’s border in recent months. Both sides have accused the other of trying to start a new conflict after the 2020-2022 war, which the source said claimed at least 600,000 lives.