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“So far we have identified the presence of strong explosions in the central part of Mekele and another explosion in the suburbs,” said the diplomat, who reported that the structures belonging to the FPLT (in English) were attacked.
According to a statement by the Tigray Regional Government, published by the Tigray Media House, “Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean forces have been bombarding with heavy artillery since yesterday”, today “mainly against civilian installations and infrastructure”.
On November 26, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, ordered the final attack on the rebel authorities in the Tigray region and promised “great care” not to injure civilians during the actions to take Mekele, with nearly half a million of the people living there.
Lieutenant General Hassen Ibrahim, head of the National Defense Force’s drainage department, said in a statement that the army has taken control of the city of Wukro, about 50 kilometers north of Mekele, and that it will control Mekele within a few days, as reported today by the Ethiopian portal fanabc.com.
The bombing of the Tigray capital comes after Abiy Ahmed’s Friday meeting with former presidents Joaquim Chissano (Mozambique), Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (Liberia) and Kgalema Motlanthe (South Africa), sent by the African Union (AU) to mediate the war, after the Prime Minister refused dialogue as a solution.
The only dialogue the president contemplates is with “political parties acting legally in the region” and with representatives of civil society.
For the moment, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, has ignored international calls for the cessation or reduction of hostilities against the PFLT, the party that governs Tigray, a region bordering Eritrea and Sudan. .
On 4 November, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, launched a military operation in the Tigray region (north of the country), after months of growing tensions with the regional authorities of the TPLF.
Since then, the region has been the scene of military offensives on both sides, with rocket launches and raids to capture cities.
More than 40,000 people have fled the region for Sudan and nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees in camps in northern Tigray have been exposed to fire lines.
Independent bodies have denounced the massacre of at least 600 civilians.
The international community, including the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, and the European Union, have expressed great concern about the conflict and its humanitarian impact, while insisting on calls for dialogue.
Abiy Ahmed has rejected what he calls “any illegal and unwanted act of interference”, stating that his country will handle the conflict alone.
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