Tigray authorities have accused the Ethiopian federal government of carrying out a drone strike that hit a school in the southern part of the region, killing and wounding fighters and civilians. The attack targeted Merewa Secondary School in Raya Alamata district, near the border with Amhara, according to Tigray People's Liberation Front deputy chairman Amanuel Assefa. Tigrayan military sources said three fighters were killed and seven hospitalised, while the district governor reported one civilian dead and four wounded. The strike reportedly involved Turkish drones carrying 12 bombs.
The TPLF called the attack a major escalation and said it was prepared to ally with anyone opposing the federal government. Fighting between federal and Tigrayan forces broke out in western Tigray on 1 August, near the Sudanese border.
A 2022 peace deal signed in Pretoria ended two years of war that killed an estimated 600,000 people, but key provisions remain unimplemented. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged both sides to choose dialogue over arms.