Ethiopia terms reports of air strikes on Tigray capital 'total and absolute lie'

Tigray.

Members of Tigray police at a checkpoint in the outskirts of Mekele. PHOTO | EDUARDO SOTERAS | AFP

The Ethiopian government dismissed reports of deadly air strikes on the Tigrayan regional capital Mekele on Monday, describing them as an "absolute lie".

"There is no reason, or no plan, to strike civilians in Mekele, which is a part of Ethiopia, and home to our own citizens. This is an absolute lie," Legesse Tulu, head of the Government Communication Service, told AFP.