Ethiopia bombs Tigray arms depots as thousands flee to Sudan

Ethiopia's air force has bombed arms and fuel depots in the northern region of Tigray, as an escalation in fighting prompted thousands of more people to seek refuge in neighbouring Sudan.

Federal troops on Wednesday also battled well-armed local forces in Tigray while protests against the northern region's leaders were planned elsewhere.

The land and aerial campaign came as Ethiopia arrested 17 army officers for treason, accusing them of colluding with authorities in Tigray, where the government is waging a military offensive.

Air force commander Major General Yilma Merdassa said jet fighters had "bombed arms and fuel depots as well as other areas that Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) junta has planned to use," the state-affiliated Fana Broadcast Corporate (FBC) reported.

Alsir Khaled, head of Sudan's refugee agency in the eastern border town of Kassala, said 11,000 Ethiopians had fled to Sudan this week.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR said the number of refugees "is likely to rise sharply" and urged neighbouring countries to keep their borders open.

The agency said it was also deeply concerned for more than 96,000 Eritreans living in four refugee camps in Tigray, as well as for humanitarian workers.

"Roads are blocked and electricity, phone, and internet are down, making communication nearly impossible. There is a shortage of fuel, and banking services have halted resulting in a lack of cash," said UNHCR.

Military personnel arrested

Earlier FBC, citing the police, reported that "17 military officers have been arrested for creating fertile ground" for TPLF to attack the national army.

The arrested officers were accused of cutting communication systems between the military's northern and central command.

According to the FBC, one of the suspects was the head of the army's communication department, who was caught in the act of sending 11 boxes "packed with explosives and missile components" to the TPLF.

READ MORE: Ethiopia seizes airport in Tigray as refugees flee to Sudan

Journalists arrested

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops and air force jets into the federal state of Tigray last week after a months-long feud with its ruling party which he accuses of seeking to destabilise the country.

Abiy, last year's Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said the TPLF had crossed a "red line" and attacked two federal military bases, which the armed group denies.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia's human rights commission chief Daniel Bekele on Twitter expressed concern over the arrests of six journalists, without giving details on when they were detained, and on what charges.

They include an editor at the independent Addis Standard, Medihane Ekubamichae, and Bekalu Alamrew of YouTube news channel Awlo media.

"This trend is a dangerous reversal of the early steps taken by PM Ahmed's government to improve press freedom," said Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) representative Muthoki Mumo on Bekalu's arrest.

Protests planned

The leaders of Oromiya, the largest of Ethiopia's nine ethnic-based regions with around 35 million people, and of Amhara planned anti-TPLF protests for Thursday in what appeared to be a government campaign to whip up support.

The rallies will protest over "atrocities" and "treason" by the TPLF, according to Gizachew Muluneh, spokesman for the Amhara regional government which backs Abiy.

The Addis Ababa mayor's office also announced demonstrations in the coming days and urged residents to donate blood and money to show support for soldiers in Tigray.

There were no public statements on Wednesday from the Tigrayan leadership.

Hundreds of combatants killed

The TPLF dominated politics in Ethiopia for nearly three decades before Abiy came to power in 2018, but have complained about being sidelined under his rule and tensions have soared in recent months as they became increasingly defiant to his rule.

Tigray has been under a communications blackout since the military operation was launched last Wednesday, making it difficult to verify the situation on the ground as both sides make claims regarding casualties and advances.

The head of the Ethiopian army's northern division, Major General Belay Seyoum, told local media on Tuesday evening that some 550 enemy combatants had been killed and 29 captured so far.

Soldiers sent 'naked' over the border

Lieutenant General Bacha Debele, a retired officer who had recently returned to the military, told a press conference on Tuesday that Tigrayan members of the army's Northern Command had received a mission from the TPLF to "destroy the army from inside". 

He said one army brigade "lost almost all its members ... and the enemy also lost many of its members", without detailing how many had died. 

He said the TPLF had "danced" around the bodies of dead soldiers, while others were stripped and sent "naked" across the Eritrean border.

His claims could not be independently verified.

TPLF difficult to dislodge 

The TPLF is a battle-hardened movement, having been at the forefront of the 1998-2000 war with Eritrea and the defeat of dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991. Their forces and militia are well-equipped and number up to 250,000.

Though there was little detail from the ground this week, the fighting was worsening the humanitarian situation in Tigray, where there were already 100,000 internally displaced people and 600,000 dependent on food aid.

The international community has expressed concern about the potential for a drawn-out conflict in Africa's second-most populous nation.

READ MORE: Reports of hundreds dead in Ethiopia's bombardment of Tigray region