Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) confirmed that the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) conducted airstrikes in various military sites in Mekelle and other parts of Tigray.
In a televised statement the Prime Minister gave followed by a press conference to the state media Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporate (EBC), he said that the Air Force conducted airstrikes on Thursday November 5, 2020 and Friday November 6, 2020.
According to the PM, the air strikes targeted strategic military sites in Mekele to annihilate heavy artillery that might otherwise be used by the TPLF. He also warned that more attacks will follow either at daytime or the night and advised the public not to gather in areas of military equipment depots, gas stations and sites where the perpetrators of the attacks on the military were said to have been located.
The sites the airstrike targeted hosted rockets and missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers.
Apart from this, he warned that there is intelligence that the TPLF is plotting to attack various places across the country including towns in the South like Hawassa and Arba Minch. He also indicated that Addis Ababa and other prominent towns are also targets of these attacks.
“This won’t be different from what we did in Somali Region, Guji and Wolega zones in Oromia,” Abiy said.
In a related story, the commissioner for the Ethiopian Federal Police said that the Special Forces in Tigray attacked 22 entities that were being protected by the Federal Police.
In a press conference, the Ethiopian Federal Police Commissioner, Endeshaw Tasew gave along with Redwan Hussein (Amb.), the spokesperson for the newly established command post, on Friday November 6, 2020, it was pointed out that the cites attacked and looted by the armed forces of the TPLF include airport, depots, electric substations, telecom infrastructure, various checkpoints, as well as palaces.
In this process, members of the police force have been attacked and properties looted from these 22 entities, Endeshaw said, although he did not disclose the level of destruction caused by the attack.
He added: “The police forces, along with the people, rescued some members and these members have joined hands with the military at the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and defended their position. They are now on the offensive.”
It was on Tuesday after midnight that the Prime Minister announced the government’s military offensive against TPLF, which he accused of attacking the Northern Command of the ENDF.
The House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR) ratified a six months state of emergency declared by the Council of Ministers in Tigray regional state.
