ETHIOPIA has resisted international pressure for mediating its war with the country’s north as its air force bombed the Tigrayan capital city of Mekelle.

Ethiopia’s air force dropped bombs in and around Mekelle on Monday, Reuters has reported citing its diplomatic and military sources. The Tigrayan authorities had no word on casualties or damage and there was no immediate information from the Ethiopian government.

Debretsion Gebremichael, leader of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), has said at least two civilians were killed and a number wounded. He said that while Mekelle had been bombed, the town of Alamata, about 120 kilometers from Mekelle in southern Tigray, had been hit by a drone attack.

Ethiopia’s task force earlier said that federal troops had “liberated” Alamata from the TPLF. There was no immediate comment from Tigray’s leaders about Alamata.

Debretsion urged the U.N. and African Union to condemn Ethiopia’s federal troops, accusing them of using high-tech weaponry including drones in attacks he said destroyed a dam and a sugar factory. The Ethiopian Government has denied targeting the dam or civilian locations, but has not commented on the sugar factory.

More than 25,000 refugees have fled the Tigray region for Sudan since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered military operations in Tigray, where the region’s ruling TPLF party governs the region of 5 million people.

The arrivals of around 5,000 refugees in Sudan’s border province Sunday marked the highest single-day number of refugees since the start of the conflict, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Ethiopia’s government Monday again refused international pleas for dialogue and asked for more time, while the leaders of Uganda and Kenya urged the warring sides to find a peaceful solution to the political and humanitarian crisis.

“A war in Ethiopia would give the entire continent a bad image,” Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni wrote on Twitter after meeting with Ethiopia’s deputy prime minister Demeke Mekonnen.

Redwan Hussein, spokesman for the government’s Tigray crisis task force, told reporters that they “don’t need mediation” until they “bring ringleaders to court.”

“We are saying ‘Give us time’... it will be a short-lived operation,” Redwan said. “We have never asked Uganda or any other country to mediate.”

His remarks came after Museveni meeting with Demeke and appealing for negotiations. (CGTN)