Nov 29, 2020(Nyamilepedia) — A few hours after the Ethiopian Prime minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali, declared victory over Mekelle city, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front launched at least two new missiles into the Eritrean capital of Asmara.
According to the US embassy, there were about six explosions which exploded in Asmara at around 10.13 pm on Saturday evening.
Two Addis Ababa-based diplomats confirmed that multiple rockets fired on Saturday night appeared to have targeted Asmara’s airport and military installations although it remains to be verified where they landed and what damage they might have caused.
“There was one rocket coming from Tigray that seems to have landed south of Asmara,” one diplomat said, noting there was no immediate information available on casualties or damages.
The second diplomat said there were reports of another rocket striking a neighbourhood in Asmara but this remained unconfirmed.
The TPLF later justified the attacks by accusing Ethiopia of enlisting Eritrean military support for its campaign in Tigray, something Ethiopia denies.
A few hours before the Asmara Attack, the 2019’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, had celebrated that the Ethiopian army had taken “full control” of the city of Mekelle assuring that the development of the city and the region will now begin while the federal police bring the remaining fugitive to book.
“I am pleased to share that we have completed and ceased the military operations in the Tigray region. Our focus now will be on rebuilding the region and providing humanitarian assistance while Federal Police apprehend the TPLF clique,” Abiy announced on Twitter.
“The main operation is successfully concluded. We now have ahead of us the critical task of rebuilding what has been destroyed; repairing what has been damaged; returning those who have fled, with utmost priority of returning normalcy to the people of Tigray region,” Abiy said in the statement.
Ethiopia’s military confirmed gaining full control of Mekelle after Tigray TV reported that the city of a half-million people was being “heavily bombarded” in the final push to arrest the region’s leaders.
This marks the third attack by the TPLF to Asmara since military operations began there on November 4.
Two weeks ago Debretsion Gebremichael, the president of Tigray, claimed responsibility for rocket strikes that were targeting the airport in Asmara which exacerbated fears of Ethiopia’s conflict drawing in the wider Horn of Africa region.
The TPLF are yet to claim the responsibility of Saturday’s attacks neither is there any comment from either Ethiopia or Eritrea.
An analyst from Shaham research, Matt Bryden said that the TPLF has left major cities in the region while warning there could be insurgency operations.
“We should expect them now to begin insurgency operations,” he said.
“I would be very surprised if this was the end of the conflict. It may be the end of the three week ‘law enforcement’ operation that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared, but by all accounts there has been some fierce fighting and yet the TPLF forces and leadership seem to have withdrawn without presenting major resistance to federal forces,” he said.
