'Air strike' rocks Mekelle city in Ethiopia's Tigray region

Ethiopian government officials were not immediately reachable for comment but officials at Ayder Referral Hospital say the midnight strike near Mekelle general hospital caused casualties.

PM Abiy, a Nobel Peace laureate, sent troops into Tigray in 2020 to topple the TPLF in response to what he said were rebel attacks on federal army camps. (AP)

The capital of Ethiopia's Tigray region has been hit by an air strike, according to local hospital officials and the Tigray rebels. Kibrom Gebreselassie, chief clinical director at Mekelle's Ayder Referral Hospital, said on Twitter there had been a drone attack "close to midnight" on Tuesday near Mekelle general hospital. "Casualties are arriving at Ayder Hospital," he said. Another senior Ayder hospital official, Hayelom Kebede, said in a brief message to the AFP news agency that two wounded people had been taken to the facility so far. Ethiopian government officials were not immediately reachable for comment. "Night time drone attack in Mekelle. No conceivable military targets!" Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) spokesperson Getachew Reda said on Twitter. "Mekelle Hospital among the targets and at least three bombs dropped," he added. READ MORE: Türkiye concerned over return of Ethiopia conflict, urges talks Latest fighting The strike was reported just days after at least four people including children were killed in another air strike on Mekelle, with Tigrayan rebels accusing the government of hitting a residential area and a kindergarten. Fighting erupted between government forces and the TPLF in northern Ethiopia last Wednesday, ending a five-month truce and dimming hopes for a peaceful resolution to the near 22-month war. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and the TPLF have each blamed the other for the fighting that erupted in areas bordering the southeastern tip of Tigray. The fighting, which erupted in November 2020, has killed untold numbers of civilians and left millions in need of humanitarian aid across the north. Since the latest combat flared, the international community has issued appeals for restraint, including from UN chief Antonio Guterres and the African Union. PM Abiy, a Nobel Peace laureate, sent troops into Tigray to topple the TPLF in response to what he said were rebel attacks on federal army camps. The TPLF mounted a comeback, recapturing most of Tigray in June 2021 and expanding into Afar and Amhara, before the fighting reached a stalemate. READ MORE: Ethiopia's government, rebels trade blame over renewed clashes in Tigray READ MORE: UN condemns air strike that killed children in Ethiopia Source: AFP

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Egypt protests against Ethiopia's plan to fill Nile dam reservoir

Cairo lodges its protest at UN Security Council, objecting to Addis Ababa's unilateral filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam without a binding deal with downstream countries including Sudan.

Egypt and Sudan fear the dam could threaten their access to vital Nile waters and have demanded a written pact between the three countries. (Reuters Archive)

Egypt has protested to the UN Security Council (UNSC) against the Ethiopian plan to fill the reservoir of a controversial Nile dam for a third year without agreement from downstream countries.

Egypt "received a message from the Ethiopian side on July 26, stating that Ethiopia would continue filling the reservoir of the Renaissance Dam during the current flood season," a Foreign Ministry statement said on Friday.

In response, Egypt wrote to the UNSC "to register its objection and complete rejection of Ethiopia's continuation of filling the Renaissance Dam unilaterally without a deal."

The ministry stressed that Egypt maintains its "legitimate right... to take all necessary measures to ensure and protect its national security, including against any risks that Ethiopia's unilateral measures may cause in the future."

The multi-billion dollar Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile is set to be the largest hydroelectric scheme in Africa but has been at the centre of a dispute with Egypt and Sudan ever since work began in 2011.

Cairo, Khartoum seek accord

Addis Ababa deems the GERD essential for the electrification and development of Africa's second most populous country.

But Cairo and Khartoum fear it could threaten their access to vital Nile waters and have demanded a written agreement between the three countries on the dam's filling and operation.

The $4.2-billion dam is ultimately expected to produce more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity, more than doubling Ethiopia's output. The first of 13 turbines began generating power in February.

The process of filling the GERD's vast reservoir began in 2020, with Ethiopia announcing in July that year it had hit its target of 4.9 billion cubic metres.

The reservoir's total capacity is 74 billion cubic metres, and the target for 2021 was to add 13.5 billion, a target Ethiopia said it had met.

US involvement 

The new US envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer, was in Ethiopia on Friday for talks that were expected to include the dispute over the dam. 

The envoy already held talks in Egypt on Monday.

"We are actively engaged in supporting a diplomatic way forward under the African Union's auspices that arrive at an agreement that provides for the long-term needs of every citizen along the Nile," he said.

Source: AFP

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