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Three rockets were fired on the Eritrean capital, Asmara on Saturday, diplomats said, hours after leaders of Ethiopia’s Tigray region warned it could attack.
The rockets seemed to be aimed at the capital’s airport. Information on injuries or deaths was not available and Tigray regional officials did not respond to requests for comment.
On Tuesday, Debretsion Gebremichael, the leader of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), accused Eritrea of sending troops across the border in support of Ethiopian government forces, something Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh Mohammed denied, telling Reuters : “We are not part of the conflict.”
Eritrea has long been at odds with the TPLF, experts said, and they fear it may be involved in the conflict between the TPLF and the federal government of Ethiopia.
Airports targeted
Late Friday, Tigray launched rockets at two airports in the neighboring Amhara region, Ethiopian and Tigray regional governments said.
In a statement on Tigray TV, the Tigray regional government said the attacks will continue “unless the attacks against us stop.”
The federal government confirmed the attacks, stating in a statement: “A rocket was launched against the cities of Bahir Dar and Gondar. As a result, the airport areas have suffered damage “.
The Ethiopian army has been fighting local forces in the nearby northern region of Tigray for more than a week. Hundreds of people have been killed since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent the National Defense Force to Tigray on November 4, after accusing local forces of attacking a military base.
More than 14,500 Ethiopians have fled to Sudan, and the UN refugee agency says more people are arriving.
On Friday, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet expressed alarm over the rapid deterioration of the situation in Tigray.
His spokesman, Rupert Colville, said Bachelet was particularly upset by an Amnesty International report on alleged mass killings in the southwestern Tigray town of Mai-Kadra.
Horrible deaths
Amnesty said photographs and videos of the scene indicate that hundreds of people were stabbed or shot dead. He said the victims appeared to be day workers who were not involved in military operations.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front denied that tens or hundreds of people were “shot dead” in Mai-Kadra.
Colville said the high commissioner feared the consequences if Tigray and Ethiopia did not heed his warning.
If the fighting continues, he said, Bachelet feared the conflict could easily extend beyond borders, potentially destabilizing parts of East Africa.
Lisa Schlein contributed to the reporting from Geneva.
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