ADDIS ABABA: Rebel Tigrayan authorities accused Ethiopia of another drone strike in the country’s northern region on Tuesday. The federal government has launched multiple drone strikes in Tigray in recent weeks and massed troops at the regional border, raising fears of a return to the civil war of 2020-2022 that killed some 600,000 people. “There was a drone strike this morning in Hintalo district,” south of the regional capital, Mekelle, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) vice president Amanuel Assefa told AFP. “I am hearing that civilians have been killed in their residences,” he said, without providing further details. AFP was unable to independently verify the claim. The federal army did not respond to requests for comment. A medical source at a nearby hospital, who requested anonymity, told AFP that at least three people were wounded in Tuesday’s strike, including at least one member of the Tigrayan forces. The conflict tracking group, ACLED, has previously recorded 14 drone strikes in Tigray this year, focused on military targets. The TPLF ruled the whole of Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018 before being sidelined with the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, eventually triggering the civil war. Rights groups have accused the TPLF of a campaign of forced recruitment this year.