ADDIS ABABA (ETHIOPIA) – Rebel Tigray forces fired rockets at the capital city of the neighbouring region Amhara region in Ethiopia on Friday, said Amhara authorities. This raises fears that the conflict could lead to a full-fledged war.
Thousands of people have been killed and tens of thousands forced to become refugees in two weeks of fighting in Tigray. This casts doubt on the capacity of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to hold together the ethnically diverse country.
“The illegal TPLF group has launched a rocket attack around 1:40 am in Bahir Dar,” the Amhara government’s communications office said in a Facebook post in what is seen as a reference to Tigray People’s Liberation Front. The office said the rockets did not inflict any damage.
The capital of Amhara Bahir Dar by the lake is hundreds of miles from the theatre of fighting in Tigray. The Amhara military is fighting alongside the Ethiopian federal troops and the two regions have a border dispute.
According to a local resident and a resident of the Amhara capital, there were two explosions and one of the rockets landed near the airport.
Ethiopia is a federation of 10 ethnic regions and for decades the administration was virtually controlled by Tigrayans in a TPLF-led ruling coalition. This continued until Abiy Ahmed of Amhara and Oromo descent assumed office two years ago. While he says he wishes to share authority fairly in the country, the TPLF believes he is pursuing a vendetta against former officials and curbing the rights of regions.
The conflict began two weeks ago after an alleged attack on federal troops in Tigray by the rebels.
A week ago, Tigrayan forces fired two rockets at two airports in Amhara. They also fired a rocket towards neighbouring Eritrea, which is hostile towards Tigray. Eritrea buried the hatchet with Ethiopia in 2018 and that earned Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.
Amid the conflict, there are reports of killing of civilians. According to Amnesty International, many Amhara civilians have been killed by Tigray forces between November 9 and 10. However, Tigray authorities have denied the charges. Meanwhile, Tigray refugees fleeing to Sudan said they were targeted for their ethnicity.
On Thursday, Tigray authorities accused the federal government of bombing a university in the Tigray capital of Mekelle.
Ever since the conflict began, telephone lines and internet links to the region have been cut making it difficult to ascertain the extent of casualties and damage to homes and structures.
