by At least three rockets fired from Ethiopias Tigray region have hit the capital of neighbouring Eritrea, five regional diplomats said, marking a considerable escalation of a conflict pitting Ethiopian government troops against rebellious local forces in the northern Tigray region.
At least two of the rockets hit Asmara airport on Saturday evening, three diplomats said. With most communications down in Tigray and Eritrea, the attacks could not be independently verified. Officials on both sides could not be reached.
Tigrays leader Debretsion Gebremichael said on Tuesday that Eritrea had sent troops over the border in support of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmeds government but provided no evidence.
Eritreas Foreign Minister Osman Saleh Mohammed denied this at the time, telling the Reuters news agency: We are not part of the conflict.
Eritrea and Ethiopia signed a peace deal two years ago, but President Isaias Afwerkis government in Asmara remains hostile to the Tigray leadership after their role in a devastating 1998-2000 war.
Earlier on Saturday, Tigrays ruling party, the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), threatened to attack Eritrean targets.
We will launch a missile attack to foil any military movement in Asmara and Massawa, party spokesman Getachew Reda told a local television station. Massawa is an Eritrean port on the Red Sea.
Abiy launched a military campaign against Tigrays leaders last week, after accusing them of attacking federal troops based in the northern region that borders Eritrea and Sudan.
The fighting has killed hundreds of people on both sides, sent thousands of civilians fleeing into Sudan and raised fears it could destabilise other parts of Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa region.
