Ethiopian airstrikes in Tigray force UN flight to turn back

By CARA ANNA
Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopian military airstrikes have forced a United Nations humanitarian flight to abandon its landing in the capital of the country’s Tigray region. A government spokesman confirms that authorities had been aware of the inbound flight. The U.N. says further flights are suspended. The development appears to be a sharp escalation in the intimidation tactics that authorities have used against aid workers amid the intensifying, year-long Tigray war. The spokesman says the airstrikes in the city of Mekele targeted a former military training center now being used as a “battle network hub” by rival Tigray forces. Airstrikes resumed in Mekele this week after several months.