A drone strike on Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, has injured at least 13 people, including five children, as tensions between federal and Tigrayan forces fuel fears of a return to war.
The strike hit a residential neighbourhood in Mekelle early Thursday, according to Tigrayan authorities, with residents reporting damage to several homes.
Almaz Wedu, a farmer whose home was damaged in the attack, described the moment the roof collapsed around her.
“I came suddenly and the roof fell on us while we were right here,” she said. “Look at this house, it is completely destroyed. I don’t know where it came from or why. I am a farmer, why is this being done to a farmer’s home?”
Birhanu Hailemariam, emergency ward coordinator at Ayder Referral Hospital, said 13 people were brought in for treatment following the strike.
“Three of them sustained serious injuries and are currently undergoing further examinations,” he said.
The injured, aged between two and 60, included five children and seven women.
Another resident, Memhr Hadush, said the strike occurred only metres from his home while he was with his family.
“My four children, my wife, my mother-in-law, and I were all injured, and we are now here in the hospital,” he said.
TPLF Vice President Amanuel Assefa said the first drone struck a residential area in Mekelle. He later reported a second strike near Mekelle University, although there were no immediate reports of casualties from the second attack.
Ethiopia’s federal army has not commented on the reported strikes.
An AFP journalist in Mekelle confirmed the initial strike and observed damage caused to residential properties.
The attacks come amid growing tensions between federal and Tigrayan forces, which have reportedly massed near the regional border in recent months. Both sides have accused the other of preparing for renewed hostilities.
Tigray was devastated by a two-year war between Ethiopian federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which ended with a peace agreement in 2022. The conflict killed an estimated 600,000 people and left the region deeply scarred.
The TPLF has also reported that fighting broke out between federal and Tigrayan forces near the border with Sudan on August 1, although the federal government has not publicly commented on the claim.
Regional specialist Kjetil Tronvoll said the drone strike could indicate a tougher stance by Addis Ababa towards the TPLF.
“This is likely an attempt to take out high-level targets of the TPLF,” he said, while noting that he did not believe the operation was deliberately aimed at civilian residences.
Tronvoll said the attack suggested the federal government was prepared to use “harsher means” against the TPLF after months of heightened tensions.
Tigray continues to struggle with the aftermath of the previous conflict, with about one million people still displaced and the region facing severe economic difficulties following cuts to federal subsidies.
The TPLF remains the dominant political and military force in Tigray, despite being barred from national political activity by the federal government.
The latest drone strikes, coupled with reports of renewed clashes, have heightened fears that Tigray could once again be plunged into conflict before it has fully recovered from the devastating war that ended in 2022.
