Ethiopian Air Force accused of launching fresh drone attacks in Tigray

NAIROBI, Kenya - The Ethiopian Air Force has yet again been accused of launching fresh drone attacks in the Tigray region, just a few hours after the Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF] agreed to cooperate with African Union-led mediation, a move expected to end the 22-month hostility within Northern Ethiopia.

Although the government has not responded to the fresh accusations, the TPLF claimed that the Air Force targeted Mekelle, the regional administrative capital of Tigray, even after the team agreed to embrace a ceasefire for the sake of talks between the two warring teams.

For the last three weeks, intensive fighting has been reported in the Tigray region, with Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] accused of partnering with Eritrean troops and the Amhara regional militia to terrorize innocent civilians within the region.

A senior Tigrayan official, Getachew Reda, tweeted on Tuesday that the target of the drone strikes was a university campus. There is no independent confirmation of the claim due to an ongoing communications blackout.

Speaking to the BBC Newsday program, Mr. Getachew said peace was still their "strategic choice", saying the fighting had been imposed on them.

"Peace being our strategic choice – we still insist that what’s essentially a political problem can only be solved through dialogue," he told the BBC.

Already, the Tigray government has appointed Getachew Reda and General Tsadkan Gebretensay as representatives in the much-anticipated mediation team. The African Union will lead the peace talks and former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to be part of the team.

In the interview with the BBC on Tuesday, Reda, a former Minister of government, said one of the conditions they were seeking in the negotiations was "the government’s willingness to abandon the use of force to impose its will in Tigray".

He said the will of Tigrayans should be respected – and they should be allowed to exercise "unfettered freedom".

"Nothing short of that freedom will be accepted," he said

Fighting has been going on in the region for the last 22 months with both parties claiming victory. However, members of the international community have often accused the Ethiopian administration of Abiy Ahmed of frustrating humanitarian teams trying to access the region.

Already, the war has left thousands of people dead and millions displaced according to the United Nations. Abiy Ahmed was the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2019 but his actions in the country have been under scrutiny, although he maintains that he's dealing with " terrorists".

GAROWE ONLINE