Ethiopia’s Defense Force seizes airport in Humera amid Tigray tension
In Ethiopia, the National Defense Force has seized the airport in the town of Humera in line with the government’s military response to the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The state-affiliated Fana TV announced the news on Tuesday.
Federal government fighter jets have been bombing targets, including arms depots, in the northern region of Tigray.
The African Union has called for an immediate ceasefire, urging the two sides of the conflict to respect human rights and ensure the protection of civilians.
Debretsion Gebremichael, the leader of Tigray, has accused the government of Eritrea of sending soldiers over the border to attack local forces.
“Since yesterday, the army of [Eritrean leader] Isaias [Afwerki] have crossed the country’s boundary and invaded,” he said. “They were attacking via Humera using heavy arms.”
The TPLF is battle-hardened from the 1999-2000 war with neighboring Eritrea.
With its militia allies, the rebel group numbers up to 250,000 fighters and possesses significant stocks of military hardware, according to the International Crisis Group think-tank.
The flare-up in the north has raised fears of a civil war in Africa’s second-most populous nation, where ethnic conflict has continued since Abiy Ahmed Ali took office as prime minister in 2018.
In November 2019, the nearly 30-year ethnic-based ruling coalition – the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) – merged into a single unity party – the Prosperity Party. The TPLF refused to join.
The government has so far introduced a number of reforms, including legalizing previously banned opposition groups, and making peace with Eritrea.
Abiy said on Monday that Ethiopia was not descending into “chaos” despite the tension in Tigray. He has advised the nation not to discriminate against the ethnic people of Tigray, who make up six percent of a population of more than 100 million in the country.
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