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Gov’t said the target of the attack was a training field used by Tigrayan troops, but TPLF said the attack hit Mekelle University.
As fighting between the central government and regional forces intensified, Ethiopia this week carried out a fourth day of air strikes on the capital of the northern region of Tigray.
Government spokesman Legesse Tulu said that Friday’s air strike was targeted at a base formerly belonging to the Ethiopian army, which is now used as a training base for the regional capital Merkler by the rebel Tigrayan forces.
Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) spokesperson Getachew Reda told Reuters that the attack had hit the Merkel University compound. He said he had no information about casualties.
Three humanitarian sources in Ethiopia quoted information from Merkler residents to tell Reuters that the attack hit Merkler University.
Tigrai TV, controlled by TPLF, reported that the attack hit the main campus of the university and 11 civilians were injured.
Government spokesman Legesse said the university has not been hit.
Two humanitarian sources also told the Associated Press that military airstrikes forced a United Nations humanitarian flight to abandon its landing at Merkler. Legesse confirmed that the authorities were aware of the inbound flight.
With the year-long Tigray War intensifying, the intimidation tactics used by the Ethiopian authorities against aid workers seem to have escalated sharply.
Rescuers did not want to be named because they do not have the right to share information with the media.
Legesse told the Associated Press that the authorities knew that the United Nations flights were in the area, but stated that the United Nations and military flights had “different timings and directions.”
The friction between the government and humanitarian groups is occurring during the worst hunger crisis in the world in a decade. It is said that nearly half a million people in Tigray are facing similar famine conditions.
Since June, the government has imposed what the United Nations calls a “de facto humanitarian blockade” on approximately 6 million people in the region. The Associated Press reported that people have begun to starve to death.
The military spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the United Nations flight, which was scheduled to land at Meckler, the main base of humanitarian operations in Tigray.
No willingness to compromise
Government forces also attacked Merkler’s targets on Monday, Wednesday with Thursday this week.
Independent journalist Samuel Getachu told Al Jazeera in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, that “there seems to be no willingness to compromise.”
“The Ethiopian side has always said that their target is the terrorist organization announced earlier this year. The TPLF says the Ethiopian government is creating some kind of genocide. There seems to be no end,” Getaqiu said.
“As of Monday, the media pointed out that the airstrike had killed three people.”
Nearly a year ago, a war broke out between the Federal Army and TPLF. TPLF ruled Ethiopia for 30 years under the leadership of the Multinational Alliance and now controls the northern region.
Thousands of people were killed and more than two million people were forced to flee.
This week’s government airstrikes were carried out amid fierce fighting in the neighbouring northern region of Amhara, where the government launched a ground offensive last week to regain territories lost to TPLF a few months ago.
Tigray is still in a state of communication interruption, so it is difficult to verify the claim, and the fighting area in Amhara is basically unreachable.
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