Drone Strikes in Tigray: One Killed Police Reported

Information obtained by Kulu Media indicates that drone strikes were carried out on Friday night and early this morning in two towns and one district (woreda) located in the Central Zone of the Tigray region. The police in the town of Enticho told BBC Tigrinya that one person lost their life and another was injured in the drone strike in Enticho.

The drone strike took place yesterday, Friday, Tir 22, 2018 [Ethiopian Calendar], at a time when reports indicate that the Federal Government and Tigray forces have entered into conflict once again.

Police and sources stated that the attacks were carried out in the towns of Enticho and Gendebeta, as well as in the Ahferom district.

It has been reported that the drone strikes in Enticho and Gendebeta targeted vehicles.

Enticho Town Police Commander, Tesfay Amare, stated that drone strikes were carried out on two vehicles in the town. The attack reportedly occurred between 3:00 AM and 4:00 AM (local time).

The police commander stated that the drone bomb landed on the “cabin of the cars.” He announced that one driver lost his life in this attack. He explained that an individual who was the assistant for the vehicle sustained injuries and was taken to the hospital.

According to the police commander, the Isuzu and FSR freight trucks that were attacked were loaded with “food and commercial goods.”

The Enticho Town Government Communication Affairs Office stated in information posted on its Facebook page regarding the attack that “one of the vehicles was carrying bananas.” It wrote that the other vehicle was carrying “oil and various assorted goods.”

The town’s Communication Office attached photographs of two freight trucks to the information released on Facebook.

One of the trucks is seen with damage to the driver’s cabin. Part of the vehicle’s cargo, which was covered by a canvas, is exposed, and raw bananas are visible in the exposed section.

In a video circulated on social media, people are seen pulling a person covered in cloth out of the damaged vehicle and placing them on the ground. Police in uniform, as well as residents gathering and watching by the roadside, are visible at the scene. However, the BBC has not independently verified the authenticity of this video.

Another photo posted by the Enticho Town Communication Office shows another vehicle with its cargo canvas torn starting from the middle. Cartons, yellow jerrycans of oil, and plastic-wrapped beverage-like items are present in the torn section of the canvas. Plastic-wrapped liquid oil is also seen sitting and fallen on the ground.

The police commander and sources stated that the attack in Gendebeta town similarly targeted a vehicle. Sources who spoke to BBC Tigrinya said the vehicle, which was attacked around 5:30 AM (dawn), was carrying “pepper and other commercial goods.”

It is not yet known if there were human casualties in the attacks committed in Gendebeta town and Ahferom district.

The Enticho town administration, for its part, has urged the community to take “high precaution,” stating that “drone attacks could be repeated in other areas.”

The Federal Government and Tigray forces have been in conflict since last weekend. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission confirmed in a statement issued yesterday, Friday, that conflict has erupted in the bordering areas of the Tigray, Amhara, and Afar regions.

This is not the first time drone strikes have caused damage in the reignited conflict, a tactic that was widely used during the two-year bloody war in Tigray. Residents told the BBC that a drone strike was carried out this week in the Tselemti area, where Tigray forces and Federal forces had entered into conflict.