In this file photo, Chairman of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) Debretsion Gebremichael delivers a speech during the TPLF First Emergency General Congress in Mekelle, Ethiopia, on January 4, 2020. (EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP)

The leader of the Tigray region said his forces fired rockets at neighboring Eritrea as the growing regional conflict in Ethiopia spreads beyond its borders.

Tigray leader Debretsion Gebremichael confirmed the shelling of Eritrea and the missile strikes on Saturday targeting the airport of the neighboring Asmara region in Ethiopia, calling it a “legitmate target.”

Tigray leader Debretsion Gebremichael confirmed the shelling of Eritrea, and also confirmed missile strikes on Saturday targeting the airport of the neighboring Asmara region in Ethiopia

Officials from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have blamed Eritrea for helping Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in the conflict with Tigray.

Conflict broke out in Ethiopia on Nov 4 when the army struck Tigray in retaliation for an alleged assault on a military base that Abiy blamed on the Tigray region’s government. Relations between Tigray and Abiy’s administration have been strained since he took office in 2018 and began consolidating power, sidelining the TPLF, once the nation’s preeminent power.

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The attacks have led to a humanitarian crisis in the region. Even before the latest spate of violence there were 96,000 refugees and 100,000 internally displaced people in Tigray, Catherine Sozi, the UN’s resident and humanitarian coordinator in Ethiopia, told reporters.

Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, said Friday evening the government would shortly finish its ongoing military exercise against the ruling party in the northern Tigray region.

Addressing members of the diplomatic corp and international agencies, Demeke said the military operations which have killed hundreds and caused more than 11,000 people to flee to Sudan was going to plan.

Since the early hours of Nov 4, the Ethiopian government has been undertaking military operations against the TPLF.

The mounting disputes between the federal government and the TPLF were exacerbated in September this year, when the Tigray regional government decided to go ahead with its planned regional elections, which the Ethiopian parliament had previously postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

READ MORE: Ethiopia sends army into Tigray region, heavy fighting reported

With inputs from Xinhua