2020 Mekelle airstrikes
On 28 November 2020, Mekelle was hit with an airstrike campaign during the Mekelle offensive of the Tigray War.
Massacre
The Ethiopian National Defense Force killed dozens of civilians during the assault on Mekelle on 28 November 2020. Tigray regional president Debretsion claimed that they were bombarding the city with artillery. Ambulances rushed through the streets picking up dead and wounded after Ethiopian government artillery strikes. Doctors in Mekelle sent text messages on the condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals from the government by using a rare internet connection in the city. They stated that indiscriminate artillery shelling targeted not only military areas, but also civilian neighborhoods, ended up killing 27 civilians and wounded around 100. The hospital staff provided pictures of their patients having many shrapnel wounds.The "Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation" mentions 28 victims, of which one has been formally identified.