Fourth air strike on rebel-held Ethiopian city this week
Ethiopian authorities have confirmed the national air force shelled the Tigray regional capital of Mekelle on Thursday afternoon, its fourth strike on the city this week.
The ongoing struggle in Ethiopia’s Tigray region has killed thousands of people and displaced more than two million.
The government says its latest aerial attacks targeted Tigrayan rebels who are controlling the city, but the fighters in Tigray have claimed civilians were the target.
Some human rights activists in Tigray are suggesting high-rise residential buildings had been bombed – but the military says it was targeting manufacturing and armament repair sites belonging to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, as well as destroying illegal caches of heavy weaponry.
Tigray media has also shown footage of what appeared to be child soldiers allegedly fighting on the government’s side. Meanwhile the Ethiopian government has been accusing the Tigrayan fighters of using child soldiers since they recaptured Mekelle in June.
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