Ethiopia: Authorities in Tigray accuse Addis Ababa of drone strike near Mekelle

Authorities in Ethiopia’s Tigray region have accused the federal government of launching a drone strike near the state capital Mekelle.

In a statement on social media, Tigrayan authorities said the drone hit a farmer training center in Dandera village, some 15 kilometres outside the city.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which governs the state, said there were no injuries and did not provide further details.

A local priest, who requested anonymity, said at least one person was killed.

“I saw one fighter killed in the strike being carried away in a vehicle,” he told AFP, adding that he believed two other people had been wounded. He said the projectile had landed on farmland close to a school, near a watering hole used for local farmers’ livestock.

Tensions between Tigray and Addis Ababa have been mounting in recent weeks, with both parties massing forces on either side of the regional border.

They’ve also trading accusations of trying to start a new conflict, less than four years after a peace deal ended a devastating civil war that claimed at least 600,000 lives.

Ethiopia’s federal army has not commented.