FALSE: This image does not show the Ethiopian Air Force attacking Mesfin Engineering in Mekelle

The picture is an artist impression published online on 10 May 2021, before the Ethiopian National Defense Force airstrike in Mekelle City.

An image shared on a Facebook page with more than 403,372 followers, claiming to show the second part of Mesfin Engineering in Mekelle being attacked by the Ethiopia Air Force is FALSE.

The Amharic post accompanying the image translates, “The second part of Mesfin Engineering in Mekelle was hit by the Air Force. Government Communication Service says  “ Ethiopian Air Force launches the second phase of Mesfin Engineering in Mekelle,”.

The conflict between the government of Ethiopia and forces in the northern Tigray region has been ongoing since November 2020.  In recent months, the war in Tigray has spread into the Amhara and Afar regions.

Fighting has escalated in Amhara, where the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the government both claim control over the territory. A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the air force was targeting a training centre used by the TPLF rebel group. On 28 October 2021, an Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) airstrike destroyed the second part of Mesfin Industrial Engineering in Mekelle, a facility used by TPLF for maintaining its military equipment.

However, Google reverse image search results show that the picture used to advance the claim is an artist impression published on the Scramble Dutch Aviation Society website on 10 May 2021, before the ENDF airstrike in Mekelle City.

Arts tv has looked into an image shared on Facebook claiming to show the second part of Mesfin Engineering in Mekelle being attacked by the Ethiopian Air Force and finds it to be FALSE.

This fact-check was produced by Arts tv in partnership with Code for Africa.

 This fact-check was written by an Arts Tv fact-checker Kindalem Mesfin.