The leader of Ethiopia’s Tigray region has said on Sunday his forces bombed the airport in Eritrea’s capital Asmara, marking a major escalation in the conflict and raising fears of wider war in the Horn of Africa.
Three rockets were fired on Saturday at Asmara, hours after the leaders of Ethiopia’s Tigray region warned it might attack.
On Tuesday, Debretsion Gebremichael, the leader of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), accused Eritrea of sending troops across the border in support of Ethiopian government forces, which Eritrea’s Foreign Minister Osman Saleh Mohammed denied, telling Reuters: “We are not part of the conflict.”
Eritrea has long been at odds with the TPLF, experts said, and they fear it could be drawn into the conflict between the TPLF and Ethiopia’s federal government.
The rockets appeared to be aimed at the capital’s airport.
Tigray’s President Debretsion Gebremichael also said his forces have been fighting Eritrean forces “on several fronts” for the past few days. He did not specify where but did say Eritrean forces were deployed and fighting along Ethiopia’s border.
His troops are fighting “16 divisions” of the Eritrean army in addition to Ethiopian soldiers, he said.
“As long as troops are here fighting, we will take any legitimate military target and we will fire,” said Gebremichael, denying reports that Tigray regional forces have entered Eritrea.
When asked about possibly targeting Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, he replied: “I don’t want to tell you, but the missiles are long-range as well.”
Eritrean officials have not responded to requests for comment. No immediate comment came from the Ethiopian government on Debretsion’s claim of the strikes on Eritrea.
