Debretsion Gebremichael accused the Ethiopian national forces of using the airport to launch attacks on Tigray.

Ethiopia's federal government has not yet commented on the accusation.

But the attack is seen as a major escalation of the 12-day conflict between the Ethiopian government and the governing party in Tigray.

Fighting over Tigray has also affected Sudan, with at least 17,000 civilians crossing the border from Ethiopia, according to the UN.

Ethiopia has been through big changes since its Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018. He was awarded the Nobel peace prize last year after reaching out to make peace with neighbouring Eritrea, with whom Ethiopia had fought a bloody war two decades ago.

But the widespread reforms he pushed through sidelined the Tigrayans of the TPLF who had long dominated the political scene - and in recent weeks, tensions between the The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government seriously escalated.

-bbc