Dozens of people were killed in an airstrike Tuesday in the town of Tagogon in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region, according to news reports citing witnesses.

Witnesses said a plane dropped a bomb on a local market about 1 p.m. local time.

Health workers said Ethiopian soldiers blocked ambulances from reaching the scene of the attack.  The Reuters news agency says an Ethiopian military spokesman, Colonel Getnet Adane, indirectly addressed the allegation.

The colonel did not confirm or deny the attack, saying only that airstrikes are a conventional military tactic and the military does not target civilians.

On Tuesday, residents said new fighting had erupted in recent days north of Tigray’s capital, Mekelle.

Tigray has been embroiled in conflict since November, when the Ethiopian military launched an offensive to oust the ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The Eritrean military has been helping Ethiopian troops battle the TPLF in the ongoing dispute.

Since the fighting erupted, thousands of people have been killed and some 2 million others have fled their homes to escape the violence.