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Conflict in the Ethiopian rebel region of Tigray has intensified and threatens to spread to neighboring Eritrea. The head of the TPLF Popular Liberation Front, Debretsion Gebremichael, confirmed Sunday that his armed forces had bombed the airport of Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, the day before. Diplomats initially reported missile attacks on Asmara and a serious escalation of fighting in the region erupted earlier this month.
The TPLF, which ruled Tigray in Ethiopia, had previously threatened missile attacks on targets in Eritrea. The People’s Liberation Front accuses Eritrea of supporting the Ethiopian government in the conflict with the TPLF. Gebremichael was elected head of government in the breakaway Tigray region in September. However, the central government in Addis Ababa did not recognize the election, which has now led to military conflict.
For years there have been tensions in Tigray because the TPLF, for its part, does not recognize Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
At the beginning of the month, the conflict between the troops of the Ethiopian central government in Addis Ababa and the fighters of the TPLF intensified: according to the Sudanese refugee agency, since then at least 21,000 Ethiopians have fled the fighting in neighboring Sudan. The human rights organization Amnesty International reported last week that there was a massacre of civilians in Tigray, which is believed to have killed hundreds of people.
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