Six explosions in Eritrean capital of Asmara

The blasts came after two rocket attacks on the city in recent weeks from the Tigray region of Ethiopia

A member of the Amhara Special Forces watches on at the border crossing with Eritrea, in Humera, Ethiopia, on November 22.  AFP 

Six explosions were reported in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, on Saturday night, the US State Department said. It was not clear if they were related to the conflict in the neighbouring Tigray region of Ethiopia.

"At 10.13pm on Nov 28 there were six explosions in Asmara," the State Department said on Sunday. The post did not mention the cause or location of the explosions.

But it urged Americans to "remain situationally aware of the ongoing conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia". Tigrayan forces fighting Ethiopian soldiers previously fired rockets at Eritrea.

Two diplomats in Addis Ababa told AFP that several rockets fired on Saturday night appeared to have been aimed at Asmara's airport and military installations, although as with previous attacks it was unclear where they landed and what damage they might have caused.

Eritrea is one of the world's most secretive countries, and the government has not commented on the strikes.

Officials from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front blamed Eritrea for helping Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to advance against them as the conflict in Africa’s second-biggest nation spills beyond its borders

On Saturday, Mr Ahmed announced that federal forces had taken control of Mekelle, Tigray's capital, within hours of launching an offensive there.

The TPLF, a political party whose fight against the government began on November 4, said it was withdrawing from Mekelle. The government says the TPLF began the conflict with a surprise attack on federal forces. The TPLF described it as a "pre-emptive strike".

The US accused the TPLF of seeking to internationalise the deadly conflict in which humanitarians say several hundred people have been killed, including civilians.