An Ethiopian air strike hit the capital of Tigray yesterday killing at least seven people including two children, rebel spokespeople, and humanitarians.
According to medical officials, this is the first attack since a four-month truce broke down this week.
The air raid on Mekelle came two days after combat erupted between the national government and Tigrayan forces on the border between Tigray and Amhara, breaching the truce.
Following that, the Ethiopian government warned Tigray civilians to avoid military sites, threatening to “take actions to target the armed forces.”
Kibrom Gebreselassie, CEO of Ayder Hospital, announced on Twitter that the hospital has received four deceased, including two children, and nine injured.
He said that the strike had landed on a children’s playground. Reuters was unable to independently confirm his account. It was unclear whether any military facilities were close.
Legesse Tulu, a spokesperson for the federal administration, said reports of civilian casualties were “lies and contrived drama” and accused Tigrayan authorities of “dropping corpse bags.”
Tulu however denied that government strikes had impacted civilian targets and claimed that they had exclusively targeted military positions.