'Large-scale' fighting shatters lull in Ethiopia's Tigray

Smoke from fires billows at the scene of an airstrike in Mekele, capital of the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, October 2021. [AP Photo]

Ethiopia's military has launched a "large-scale" offensive for the first time in a year in the country's northern Tigray region, Tigray authorities alleged Wednesday, while the government countered that Tigray forces attacked first.

The renewed conflict is a significant setback to mediation efforts and the work to reach millions of people starved of food and other needs.