Civil war feared over Ethiopia airstrikes in Tigray state

TIGRAY, Nov 07 (BBC): Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says there have been airstrikes on military targets in Tigray state, whose leaders have fallen out with the national government.
But there has been no confirmation that the targets have been hit.
Tigray's governing party said on Thursday that there had been airstrikes but a senior official told the BBC that nothing had happened on Friday.
Some fear this could be the start of a civil war.
Long-standing tension between Ethiopia's federal government and Tigray, the country's northernmost state, boiled over into clashes this week.
The head of the United Nations has called for an "immediate de-escalation of fighting".
Speaking on the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, Mr Abiy said airstrikes had happened on Thursday and Friday and would continue.
He said missiles, radar equipment and rockets had been destroyed, adding that the rockets had a range of 300km (186 miles).
Earlier, speaking on state television in Tigrinya, the language of the Tigray region, AFP news agency quotes the prime minister as saying that "these air strikes aren't aimed at civilians but rather at targets stored by this dangerous group".
He was referring to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which governs the state, and the weapons that it allegedly holds.
But officials in Tigray have denied to the BBC that an air attack took place on Friday.
In a statement earlier on Friday, Mr Abiy insisted that the military operation in Tigray had "clear, limited and achievable objectives".
Tigrayan leader Debretsion Gebremichael previously accused Mr Abiy's administration of plotting to invade the state.
Details are scanty as very little confirmed information is getting out, but on Thursday Mr Debretsion said there had been clashes in the west of Tigray.
Ethiopia's federal army is sending more troops to the region, according to Gen Berhanu Jula, deputy army chief of staff, who said they were being mobilised from across the country.
That's to provide support for the Northern Command, which is based in Tigray and whose base was captured by the TPLF.
Gen Berhanu has accused regional troops loyal to the TPLF of treason.
This came after Mr Debretsion said his troops had seized "almost all" of the weaponry at the Command.
A statement from the prime minister's office on Friday said that under the six-month state of emergency he declared in the region, a new taskforce under the control of the military chief of staff would have the power to:
It is difficult to know how intense the clashes have been and how many people have been killed.
That's partly because the internet and phone lines have been cut off in Tigray. However, electricity has now been restored to the region.
On Friday, schools and shops in the regional capital, Mekelle, were open, and transport services to other towns have resumed, but local residents say there is a sense of fear over what the coming days may bring.