UPDATE 2 - Ethiopia carries out multiple airstrikes on Tigray rebel forces

ADDS MORE REMARKS BY GOVERNMENT; CHANGES DECK, LEDE

By Seleshi Tessema, Addis Getachew and Andrew Wasike

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia/ NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Nine civilians were seriously wounded when Ethiopian jets hit Tigray rebels in the north with airstrikes Wednesday for a second time this week, according to health workers.

A pregnant mother who is in her ninth month of pregnancy was wounded.

The woman was among those wheeled into a hospital, a senior doctor confirmed to Anadolu Agency.

"She was brought in while she was in a terrible condition. The doctors are doing their best to save both the lives of the infant and the mother," the doctor said in a phone call on condition of anonymity.

The strikes against forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in Mekele, the capital of Ethiopia's northernmost region of Tigray, were "aimed at facilities that the TPLF have turned into armament construction and repair sites," the government's communications service told Anadolu Agency.

Authorities said air force jets conducted surgical airstrikes on a rebel military training center 80 kilometers (50 miles) outside Mekele.

"The air force attacked the military training center called Agbe that lies between the Hagere Selam and Abi Adi areas," said the Communications Authority. "The training camp is one that serves as a training and organizing the TPLF fighting forces and arms depo."

A TPLF spokesperson said a separate strike Monday targeted civilians as it came on market day and three civilians were killed – a claim Ethiopia denies.

Humanitarian and aid groups confirmed to reporters that the airstrike hit a civilian area where residents frequent to have their vehicles repaired.

The area is also famous for the purchase of used automotive parts.

Last November, the Ethiopian government said that TPLF forces raided the northern command of Ethiopian National Defense Forces, killing soldiers and looting sizable military hardware. The following day, the Ethiopian government launched a sweeping law enforcement operation against the group’s leaders.

According to the UN, 2 million people were displaced internally due to the fighting, while tens of thousands fled to neighboring Sudan.