Airstrike in Ethiopia's Tigray kills more than 50, C-130 Shot Down

Tens of people were killed and a C-130E Hercules transport aircraft operated by the Ethiopian Air Force (ETAF) was shot down in attacks carried out by Tigray militias.

An airstrike hit a busy market in Ethiopia’s Togoga village, about 25km west of capital Mek’ele, on Tuesday and killed at least 50 people.

The alleged airstrike comes amid some of the fiercest fighting in the Tigray region since the conflict began in November when the ETAF started targeting Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) after the latter allegedly attacked a national military base. TPLF had governed Tigray until it was ousted by the federal government offensive.

The ETAF C-130E aircraft reportedly crashed near Gijet town, about 90km southwest of Mek’ele, on Wednesday. Tens of Ethiopian soldiers were onboard the airplane when it was shot-down, reports say. The U.S. donated two C-130s way back in 1998 and one in 2015.