Ethiopian Amhara militia fighters, mobilize towards Tigray, in the northwest of the city of Gondar, Ethiopia, on Nov 9, 2020.  (EDUARDO (SOTERAS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

ADDIS ABABA - A rocket was fired towards two cities in Ethiopia's Amhara state, which neighbors the northern Tigray region where the government is battling local forces, the government said on Saturday.

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The rocket attack late on Friday damaged an airport at Gondar, the government's emergency taskforce said in a tweet.

Investigations had started to establish if the explosions were linked to the fighting in Tigray, the Amhara communications office said, without giving details of any casualties.

More than 14,500 people have fled into neighboring Sudan, since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent the national defense force on an offensive against local troops in Tigray on Nov 4, after accusing them of attacking a federal military base in the area.

Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonen on Friday evening said his government was working to address the humanitarian concern in the country's restive Tigray regional state.

"Humanitarian issues are our top priority, to take care of them, to manage in a very responsible and a very swift way," he said.

"We hope to share the progress on this issue to respective organizations soon and we expect everything will be managed as planned."

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