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The Ethiopian government announced that it would carry out operations against “military” targets in the Tigray region, controlled by the rebel authorities, two days after the five-month truce between the two parties was broken.
Ethiopian aviation bombed Mekele, the capital of the Tigray region, on Friday, leaving at least four people dead and nine wounded, according to rebel authorities and humanitarian sources.
The government said in a statement that “although the federal government remains fully prepared to discuss unconditionally, it will take action against the military forces (…) that oppose peace” and asks “the people who live in the region of Tigray to stay away from areas that house military equipment or training facilities.
According to Kindeya Gebrehiwot, a spokesman for the Tigray rebels, in the attack by federal forces “a plane … dropped bombs on a residential area and a kindergarten in Mekele.” Two humanitarian sources indicated that they had been informed of an air attack in Mekele, without giving details or balances. However, the Ethiopian government assures that its attacks only focus on military objectives.
the truce is broken
Northern Ethiopia was again the scene of fighting between federal forces and Tigray rebels on Wednesday, breaking the truce agreed by both sides five months ago.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the return to violence and called “firmly for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the resumption of peace talks” between the government and the rebels. .
The African Union, which is based in Addis Ababa and has been striving for months to bring the belligerents to the negotiating table, called for a “de-escalation” and reaffirmed its “commitment to work with the parties to carry out a process political consensus in the interest of the country”.
The United States, for its part, urged both sides to “redouble their efforts to advance talks that achieve a lasting ceasefire,” said a US State Department spokesman.
The rebel authorities in Tigray initially accused the Ethiopian federal army of launching a “large-scale offensive” against their positions. Later, the Ethiopian government accused them of having “broken” the truce.
with AFP
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