ETHIOPIA

Amid peace push, rebels say university hit in an airstrike

Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels on Tuesday 13 September accused the government of targeting a university campus in an airstrike in the regional capital Mekelle, a potential setback to efforts to revive talks to end the nearly two-year conflict, writes Addis Getachew for AA.

Getachew Reda, spokesperson for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), said that “drones targeted Mekelle University’s Adi Haki campus.” He did not share any details of casualties or damage caused by the attack. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s “massive offensive” in Tigray “is crumbling like a house of cards”, he said on Twitter.

The Ethiopian government is yet to respond to the rebels’ claim. Military sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, told Anadolu Agency that the TPLF “attempted an incursion via the Humera front” in northwestern Ethiopia on Monday. Hopes for peace talks between the TPLF and Abiy’s government were handed a welcome boost on Sunday after the rebels said they were willing to halt fighting and take part in dialogue led by the African Union.
Full report on the Anadolu Agency site