Key facts
- Airstrikes and artillery fire hit northern Ethiopia's Tigray region overnight into Monday.
- At least 17 people were killed northwest of Tigray's capital Mekelle.
- Federal Ethiopian National Defence Force soldiers took over Mekelle over the weekend.
- Government forces exchanged artillery fire with Tigray People's Liberation Front fighters near the Tekeze River.
- Overnight airstrikes killed at least nine people in Adwa and eight in Sheraro.
- The US warned Ethiopia and Eritrea against conflict.
Airstrikes and artillery fire hit Ethiopia's northern Tigray region overnight into Monday, aid sources said, amid renewed clashes between federal and rebel forces. The attacks, which killed at least 17 people northwest of the regional capital Mekelle, occurred almost two weeks into the fighting. Federal Ethiopian National Defence Force soldiers took over Mekelle over the weekend. Government forces exchanged artillery fire with fighters loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front near the Tekeze River, according to a bulletin circulated among humanitarian groups. Overnight airstrikes killed at least nine people in Adwa and eight in Sheraro, the bulletin added. The fighting, which began on September 23, is the worst escalation since a 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. Analysts say the fighting threatens to escalate into a wider conflict, with Ethiopia accusing Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting the armed opposition, claims all three countries have denied. Last week, Ethiopia and Eritrea severed diplomatic ties over these allegations. The US State Department urged Asmara and Addis Ababa to exercise restraint, warning that a conflict would jeopardize US collaboration with both countries.