New drone strikes were reported in at least three locations in southern and northwestern Tigray on Monday morning, continuing a rapidly intensifying series of aerial attacks across the region and deepening fears that the fragile post-Pretoria security situation is moving toward a wider military confrontation.
According to Tigray Television, two drone strikes were carried out at Genete Tabia in Raya Azebo Woreda, Southern Tigray, at approximately 10:48 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. A separate strike was reported earlier, at approximately 9:00 a.m., in Endabaguna town in Tigray’s Northwestern Zone.
Civilian Areas and Irrigated Farmland Reportedly Hit
Tigray Television cited Zenabu Gebremedhin, Chief Administrator of the Southern Tigray Zone, as saying that the two strikes at Genete caused damage to civilians and to an irrigated agricultural cluster in Raya Azebo.
Details regarding the number and condition of casualties were not immediately available.
In Northwestern Tigray, Weldeabriha Gebretsadik, Chief Administrator of the Northwestern Zone, told Tigray Television that the Endabaguna strike hit a civilian residential area.
The administrators accused Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s federal government of carrying out the attacks and described them as part of what they characterized as a campaign against the people of Tigray. Tigray Television itself repeatedly characterized the strikes and the federal government as "genocidal."
The Ethiopian federal government has not publicly acknowledged responsibility for the latest reported strikes.
Latest in a Rapid Series of Drone and Air Strikes
Monday’s reported attacks are significant because they are not isolated incidents. They come only four days after drone strikes hit Mekelle, Tigray’s regional capital, and form part of a series of reported aerial attacks across Tigray during August.
On August 20, two drone strikes were reported in Mekelle. One struck the Daero residential area, where Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital said it received 13 casualties, including adults and children, for emergency medical and surgical treatment. Another strike was reported in the Quiha area, outside the city.
Other reporting placed the number treated following the Mekelle attack at 14 and confirmed that children and elderly people were among those injured.
The Mekelle strikes themselves followed another reported drone attack on August 18 near Dandera, about 15 kilometres from Mekelle, where local authorities reported one person killed and another wounded. Earlier, on August 10, strikes were reported around Raya Alamata in Southern Tigray.
Reporting on the August 10 attacks illustrates the difficulty of independently establishing what is being targeted. Tigrayan officials said a secondary school was struck, while reports indicated members of Tigrayan forces were also present in the area. BBC Tigrinya sources reported three deaths and seven injuries, while AFP reported four members of Tigrayan forces wounded.
Drone and air attacks had also been reported around Sheraro and Shererina earlier in the year, including strikes against Tigrayan military positions in June.
From Border Positions to the Regional Capital
The geographical spread of the latest attacks is particularly notable.
Reported strikes have now occurred in or around Sheraro and Shererina in northwestern Tigray, Raya in the south, Dandera near Mekelle, Mekelle itself, and now Endabaguna and Raya Azebo.
The pattern therefore appears to have expanded beyond military positions and border areas into locations where civilians live and work.
The August 20 attack in Daero was particularly alarming because it struck a residential area inside Mekelle and resulted in children and other civilians being taken to hospital.
Monday’s allegations that residential homes in Endabaguna and an irrigated farming area in Raya Azebo were struck will therefore intensify questions about targeting, civilian protection and whether the expanding aerial campaign is moving increasingly close to civilian infrastructure.
Escalation Following Renewed Ground Fighting
The aerial attacks are unfolding against a broader deterioration in the security situation.
On August 1, fighting erupted around Sheraro/Shererina in western Tigray in one of the most serious armed confrontations since the November 2022 Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement ended the large-scale Tigray war.
The Tigray authorities accused federal forces of launching the attack, while federal officials blamed forces associated with the TPLF.
Civilian Risk Increasing
The most consequential development is therefore not simply the number of strikes, but where they are increasingly being reported.
Military positions have been among the reported targets during the current escalation. But residential neighbourhoods, a school area, agricultural land and locations close to civilian communities have also been hit.
The August 20 Mekelle strike provides the clearest independently reported evidence of the civilian consequences: Ayder Hospital received at least 13 casualties, including children.
Pretoria Peace Under Increasing Pressure
The frequency and widening geographical reach of the reported strikes raise another fundamental question: how much remains of the security architecture created by the Pretoria Agreement?
The November 2022 agreement was intended to permanently end hostilities between the Ethiopian federal government and the TPLF. Yet August 2026 has now seen renewed ground fighting, accusations and counter-accusations between the parties, and repeated drone attacks across Tigray.
Monday’s reported strikes in Raya Azebo and Endabaguna therefore represent more than another entry in a growing list of attacks.
Originally published on UMD Media Facebook on 2026-08-24T11:30:00-06:00. Source: https://www.facebook.com/getachew.UMDMedia