Ethiopia fighting intensifies amid air strikes on Tigray

ADDIS ABABA — An Ethiopian government air strike hit a university in the Tigray regional capital on Friday, rebellious Tigrayan forces and humanitarian sources said, as thousands of people fled fighting further south.

The government said its strike targeted a base formerly belonging to the military and now being used by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the northern region. Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu said the university was not hit.

Friday marked the fourth day of government aerial bombardments on the city of Mekelle. They come as fighting is intensifying in the neighbouring Amhara region as the government tries to reclaim territory seized by the TPLF in recent months.

The nearly year-long conflict between the government and forces allied to the TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for three decades, has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 2 million.