ONLY ON AP Ethiopia airstrikes hit Tigray capital скачать в хорошем качестве

ONLY ON AP Ethiopia airstrikes hit Tigray capital

(19 Oct 2021) Ethiopian military airstrikes on the capital of the country’s Tigray region have returned the war abruptly to the city of Mekele after several months of peace. Monday's raids came days after a military offensive was launched against Tigray forces, who have been fighting Ethiopian and allied forces for nearly a year. Footage showed the devastation caused by the strikes with debris lining the street and windows blown out of several buildings in the city. Mekele hasn't seen fighting since late June, when the Tigray forces retook much of the region and Ethiopian troops withdrew. Since then, Ethiopia's federal government has called all able citizens to crush the Tigray fighters who dominated the national government for 27 years before being sidelined by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. What began as a political dispute in Africa's second-most populous country has now killed thousands of people. The state-owned Ethiopian Press Agency, citing the air force, reported that “communication towers and equipment” were attacked and that “utmost care was made to avoid civilian casualties.” The Tigray region, along with the current areas of fighting in the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions, are under a communications blackout, making it challenging to verify information. The Tigray forces have said they are trying to pressure Ethiopia's government to lift a deadly blockade imposed on the Tigray region since the dramatic turn in the war in June. But witnesses in the Amhara region have alleged door-to-door killings and other atrocities against civilians by the Tigray fighters - an echo of the atrocities that Tigrayans reported at the hands of Ethiopian and allied forces earlier in the war. The new offensive rages despite pressure from the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and other African nations for a cease-fire, talks and humanitarian access. The U.S. a month ago threatened a new round of targeted sanctions if steps toward those goals weren't taken quickly. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...