ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) -Ethiopia conducted an air strike on Sunday in the western part of the Tigray region that hit a training site of the rebellious Tigrayan forces and an arms depot, government spokesperson Legesse Tulu told Reuters.
It was not immediately possible to verify the claim as communications are down throughout most of war-hit Tigray.
“I can confirm there was a successful airstrike in Mai Tsebri targeting training site of illegal recruits of the TPLF and a depot of heavy artillery,” Tulu said.
TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda told Reuters he had no information about any strike on Sunday and would seek to verify the report with his colleagues.
Ethiopian federal forces and forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have been fighting for almost a year in a conflict that has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 2 million.
Mai Aini and Adi Harush Refugee Camps, which host thousands of Eritrean refugees, are both in the vicinity of Mai Tsebri.
Tulu said that the refugee camps were not affected by the strike.
Representatives from Ethiopia’s Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Addis Ababa newsroom; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Raissa Kasolowsky)
