AFP: The raids mark a sharp escalation in the brutal year-long conflict pitting government forces and their allies against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the region’s once dominant ruling party.
The international community has voiced alarm about the new attacks in the north, where fighting since November has killed thousands of people and left millions in need of emergency aid.
The government said it bombed TPLF weapons caches in the regional capital Mekele and the town of Agbe which lies about 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the west, after two raids on Mekele on Monday.
“It targeted at the facilities that TPLF have turned into arms construction and repair armaments sites,” government spokesman Legesse Tulu said of the latest Mekele strike.
Dr Hayelom Kebede, research director at Mekele’s Ayder Referral Hospital, said eight people had been wounded, including a pregnant woman.
UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters that initial information indicated some civilians including women and children were injured.
“It was heavy and the jet was so close,” one local resident told AFP, with witnesses reporting thick clouds of smoke rising up over the city.
The United States, which has threatened sanctions if the warring parties do not reach a negotiated settlement, issued a strong statement denouncing the violence.
“We have seen the credible reports of attacks in and around Mekele. The United States condemns the continuing escalation of violence, putting civilians in harm’s way,” State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted.
