“So far we have identified the presence of strong explosions in the central part of Mekele and another explosion in the periphery,” said the diplomat, who indicated that the facilities belonging to the FPLT (in English) have been attacked.
According to a statement from the Tigray Regional Government, published by Tigray Media House, “since yesterday, Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean forces are bombing with heavy artillery”, today “mainly against civilian installations and infrastructure”.
On 26 November, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered the final attack on rebel authorities in the Tigray region and promised “great care” not to injure civilians during the actions to take Mekele, with almost half a million inhabitants.
Lieutenant General Hassen Ibrahim, head of the Drainage Department of the National Defense Force, 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 days, as reported today by the Ethiopian portal fanabc.com.
The bombings of the capital of Tigray take place after Friday’s meeting of Abiy Ahmed 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 rejected dialogue as a solution.
The only dialogue that the president contemplates is with “the political parties that act legally in the region” and with representatives of civil society.
For the time being, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, ignored international calls for the cessation or reduction of hostilities against the FPLT, the party that governs Tigray, a region bordering Eritrea and Sudan. .
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military operation in the Tigray region (northern country) on November 4, after months of growing tension with the Tigray TPLF regional authorities.
Since then, the region has been the scene of military offensives by both parties, with rocket fire and incursions to capture cities.
More than 40,000 people left the region for Sudan and nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees in camps in northern Tigray were exposed to the lines of fire.
Independent bodies reported the massacre of at least 600 civilians.
The international community, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, and the European Union, has expressed great concern about the conflict and its humanitarian impact, while insisting on calls for dialogue.
Abiy Ahmed has rejected what he calls “any unwanted and illegal acts of interference”, saying that his country will handle the conflict alone.
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