Tigray TV station hit by drone strike as rebels advance in northern Ethiopia

The headquarters of Tigrai TV in the Tigrayan capital Mekelle was hit by a drone strike on Sunday, as heavy fighting resumed between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopia’s federal government, raising fears of a return to the full-blown civil war of 2020-2022 in which an estimated 600,000 people died.

“We heard a loud bang from a drone strike elsewhere and we fled the building,” a journalist from the station told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. Photos showed the facade of the Tigrai TV building damaged and blackened, with numerous windows blown out by the explosion.

The station, which has around 400 employees and is seen as the key outlet for the rebel authorities in Mekelle, was off air after the attack. No casualties were immediately reported, and the channel has not commented. The federal government in Addis Ababa had said on September 21 that Tigrai TV was suspended “indefinitely” and banned other outlets from broadcasting its reports.

Fighting has resumed between the TPLF and the federal government since Wednesday. The TPLF has seized airports and launched attacks into the neighbouring states of Afar and Amhara, saying it is engaged in a “defensive war” against the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. A humanitarian source said the Afar town of Erebti fell to the rebels on Sunday after heavy artillery fire, and estimated at least 150,000 people had been displaced in Afar.

Ethiopia’s army chief, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, accused Eritrea and Sudan of backing the armed groups fighting federal troops. UN chief Antonio Guterres raised the alarm on Friday over reports of drone use and harm to civilians.

Sources

• Arab News (AFP) — Tigray TV station hit by drone, rebels advance in north Ethiopia
• Khaleej Times (AFP) — Tigray state TV station hit by drone as heavy fighting in Ethiopia resumes