Tigray State TV Station Hit by Drone Amid Renewed Ethiopia Fighting
A drone has struck the headquarters of Tigrai TV in Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, damaging the building and forcing the broadcaster off air, journalists told AFP.
The attack occurred on Sunday as heavy fighting continued between forces aligned with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopia’s federal government.
Photos reviewed by AFP showed the station’s facade blackened and damaged, with several windows blown out. A journalist said the station, which has about 400 employees, was no longer broadcasting after the strike. No casualties were immediately reported.
The source of the drone strike was not immediately established. Neither the Ethiopian federal government nor Tigrai TV had publicly claimed responsibility for, or provided a detailed account of, the attack.
Tigrai TV is regarded as a key media outlet for authorities aligned with the TPLF. Ethiopia’s media regulator suspended the station earlier this month and barred other media organisations from using its reports as a source.
The strike comes amid the most serious escalation in northern Ethiopia since the 2020–2022 Tigray war. Fighting has spread beyond Tigray into neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions, while communications and air transport have also been disrupted.
The renewed clashes have raised concerns over a possible return to a wider conflict, after a 2022 peace agreement ended the previous war between the federal government and the TPLF.
