Araweelo News Network.
There are reports that missiles have hit the Eritrean capital, Asmara.
Asmara (ANN)-The reports, which come from Eritreans in the diaspora who have spoken to residents, suggest that the airport and Ministry of Information were hit.
Later on Saturday, there were reports of loud explosions in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, although the cause remained unclear. A spokesman for the TPLF had earlier warned Eritrea could be targeted.
Residents of Asmara said there were very loud explosions.
A residential complex at the Sembel residential complex, which is home to some 1,200 families in the southwest of the city, is said to have received a missile strike.
There is reported to be a blackout in the city, with some people fleeing the urban area.
The attack follows statements broadcast on Tigray television today, saying that Eritrea would be among Tigray’s targets. Other targets that were mentioned were in Ethiopia.
This comes after reports that Eritrean troops have been involved in the fighting in Tigray, including shelling the town of Humera.
Sources close to the Eritrean government confirmed that missiles had been fired at Asmara, but denied that the capital had been hit, saying that they landed in the countryside.
Analysts point out that the Tigrayans would have taken possession of Ethiopia’s heavy weaponry when they seized the Northern Command base in the Tigray capital, Mekelle, when the conflict broke out, ten days ago.
The missile strike on Asmara and the Tigrayan reports of attacks by the Eritrean army means that what began as a civil war has become an international conflict.as announced tonight at eritreahub.org
The attack took place last night the Two airports in Amhara state were targeted late on Friday with one of the rockets hitting the airport in Gondar, partially damaging it, said Awoke Worku, spokesperson for Gondar central zone. A second projectile fired simultaneously landed just outside of the airport at Bahir Dar.
A doctor told AFP news agency two military personnel were killed and up to 15 injured in Gondar.
The Amhara regional state’s forces have been fighting alongside their federal counterparts against Tigray’s fighters.
“In the late hours of November 13, 2020, a rocket was fired towards Bahir Dar & Gondar cities. As a result, the airport areas have sustained damages,” a government statement said on Saturday.
“The TPLF [military government] is utilising the last of the weaponry within its arsenals,” it added, referring to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), Tigray’s governing party.
Tigray’s state government said the attacks were in retaliation for recent air strikes by the federal government on the region.
The airports in Bahir Dar, the regional capital, and in Gondar are used by both military and civilian aircraft. An Ethiopian Airlines worker who did not wish to be identified said flights to Gondar and Bahir Dar airports had been cancelled after the attack.
Residents also reported hearing gunfire in both cities on Friday night, though an Amhara regional government statement said “the situation was controlled within a few minutes” and “our cities are in peace”.
