Airstrike hits capital of Ethiopia's Tigray, second time this week

The report of a strike comes two days after two airstrikes hit the city. Rebellious Tigrayan forces accused the Ethiopian government of launching the strikes.

Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia, was hit by an airstrike on Wednesday morning, regionally controlled television reported, the second time this week the city has been attacked.

In this Thursday, May 6, 2021 file photo, the city of Mekele is seen through a bullet hole in a stairway window of the Ayder Referral Hospital, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. (AP)

Tigrai Television, controlled by the region's Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF), reported the attack targeted the city centre. It posted photographs of what appeared to be plumes of billlowing smoke, but it was not immediately possible for Reuters to geolocate the photographs.

It was also not immediately possible to reach the Ethiopian government or the TPLF for comment. The two sides have been fighting a war for almost a year that has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 2 million.

The report of a strike comes two days after two airstrikes hit the city. Rebellious Tigrayan forces accused the Ethiopian government of launching the strikes. Though a government official initially denied any strikes, state-run media later reported the air force conducted an attack.

The news follows intensified fighting in two other Ethiopian regions, where the central government's military is trying to recover territory taken by the TPLF, which recaptured Mekelle and most of the rest of Tigray several months ago.