Debretsion Gebremichael, President of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, has said his forces in Saturday night launched rocket attacks on Eritrea’s airport as conflict in the area escalates.
Gebremichael says the attack was due to the Ethiopian national forces using the airport to launch attacks on Tigray.
The attack is viewed as the biggest escalation so far in the 12-day conflict between the Ethiopian Government and the governing party in Tigray amid fears that the crisis will spill over into neighbouring African countries.
Ethiopia’s Government has not yet commented on the accusation but the attack is seen as a major escalation of the 12-day conflict between the government and the governing party in Tigray.
Residents of Asmara reported hearing loud explosions amid reports of rockets landing near the city’s airport.
No casualties have been reported yet.
The Tigrayans have also accused Eritrean forces of crossing into Ethiopia to back federal forces there.
Reuters quoted the Tigrayan leader, Mr Debretsion, as saying that his forces have been fighting 16 divisions of the Eritrean Army on several fronts for the past few days.
No less than 17,000 people have been displaced by the conflict, according to the UN.