Ethiopian government says its air force bombed 2 rebel targets

NAIROBI, Kenya/ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

The Ethiopian government said Monday that its air force attacked more bases used by Tigray rebels in the country.

The Ethiopian National Defense Forces reportedly targeted key locations, including a military training center for the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). The air force said large numbers of illegal recruits were undergoing military training at the center which was bombed

"Another target was in Kiliwwa or Haji Meda, a strategic location between northern Wollo and Afar," an official with the Government Communication Service told Anadolu Agency.

"The airstrike targeted the terrorist group’s training center, a logistics hub and the terrorist group's backup force," it said.

Armed conflict between TPLF forces and the Ethiopian army has been raging since November 2020.

The TPLF is yet to comment on the claim by the Ethiopian government that the airstrike killed its recruits who were at a training facility.

Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) commander Jaal Marroo in a statement Monday warned of an imminent attack in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, saying his forces were very close to the area.

TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda has acknowledged a statement from Berhane Gebrechristos, the spokesman for the OLA, who said that the TPLF and at least seven other opposition political parties in Ethiopia have formed the United Front of Ethiopian Federalist Forces political party to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed from power.

A spokesman for the prime minister's office told Anadolu Agency that the government is aware of the alliance by Ethiopian factions but dismissed it as a gimmick.

According to the UN, more than two million people have been displaced due to the war and a humanitarian catastrophe is looming.

In the latest effort to broker peace between the warring parties, the African Union’s special envoy for East Africa, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, met with TPLF leaders in Mekele, the capital of the Tigray region.

Obasanjo on Monday also briefed the African Union peace mission about his meeting with the TPLF leaders. No details have been released by the African Union to the media about the outcome of Obasanjo's efforts in Tigray.

There have been additional calls from the international community, including regional governments, to end the hostilities through dialogue and negotiations. Tigray has gone for weeks without receiving any humanitarian aid.

According to a UN report, more than 5.2 million people across Tigray -- more than 90% of the region's population -- require life-saving assistance.

Nearly 400,000 people are facing famine-like conditions and more than 100,000 children in Tigray could suffer life-threatening malnutrition in the next 12 months.

The war has claimed thousands of innocent lives and left many wounded.