Ethiopian and Eritrean government forces launched an attack in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray against Tigress forces on Thursday, a Tigrayan forces spokesman said, although Reuters was unable to verify the information directly. Independent.
Getachew Reda, a spokesman for the Tigray forces, said on Twitter (NYSE: TWTR ) that the two “forces have launched a massive four-pronged offensive early this morning in the #Adyabo area of northwestern Tigray!”
An aid worker in the Tigray city of Shire (LON: SHP ) told Reuters that drivers coming from the area reported cross-border shelling on Wednesday, and that he had spoken with a witness who said heavy artillery shelling in the city from Shiraro, near the border with Eritrea, had started around 4:30 am Thursday.
A militia leader from the city of Gondar in the Amhara region, with contacts on the front lines of the fighting, confirmed that there had been “heavy shelling from our side” targeting the trenches of Tigrayan forces around the city. of Sheraro, in the same area.
The Ethiopian military had clashed with Tigray forces on Wednesday, he said, and wounded fighters on the government side were being treated in Humera. The hospital had received orders to evacuate civilian patients, he said.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm the reports. Tigray has been without telephone communications since government troops withdrew more than a year ago.
Ethiopian government spokesman Legesse Tulu, military spokesman Col. Getnet Adane and the prime minister’s spokesman Billene Seyoum did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but the government issued a statement Wednesday accusing Tigray forces to launch multiple attacks.
Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.