At least one rocket fired from Ethiopia’s northern
Tigray region targeted neighbouring Eritrea Friday night, four
regional diplomats told AFP, the second such attack since
Ethiopia’s internal conflict broke out earlier this
month.
“There was one rocket coming from Tigray that seems to have
landed south of Asmara” (the Eritrean capital), one
diplomat said, noting there was no immediate information available
on casualties or damages.
A second diplomat said there were reports of another rocket
striking a neighbourhood in Asmara, but this remained
unconfirmed.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has for more than three
weeks been waging a military campaign against the leadership of
Tigray’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front
(TPLF).
He an nounced the operations November 4, saying they came in
response to attacks orchestrated by the TPLF on federal military
camps.
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The TPLF has accused Ethiopia of enlisting Eritrean military
support, a charge Ethiopia denies.
Two weeks ago Debretsion Gebremichael, the president of Tigray,
claimed responsibility for rocket strikes targeting the airport in
Asmara.
Those strikes exacerbated fears Ethiopia’s conflict could draw
in the wider Horn of Africa region.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the TPLF for
Friday’s strike, nor was there comment from Ethiopia or
Eritrea.
After more than three weeks of fighting that has killed hundreds
and sent tens of thousands of refugees fleeing into neighbouring
Sudan, Abiy said this week the army was poised for a final
offensive in the Tigrayan capital, Mekele, in the coming days.
Tigray has been under a communications blackout since military
operations began, making claims of advances difficult to
verify.
It was not immediately clear Friday night how close Ethiopian
federal forces were to entering Mekele.
The international community has warned that an assault on
Mekele, a city of half a million, could violate rules of war.
Earlier Friday Abiy, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, met
with envoys from the African Union to discuss the conflict.
But he has so far resisted calls for an immediate cessation of
hostilities and talks with TPLF leaders.