The leader of Ethiopia's restive Tigray region has claimed responsibility for rocket strikes on neighbouring Eritrea's capital in an escalation of violence that risks engulfing the Horn of Africa. On Saturday evening, several missiles hit Eritrea’s capital Asmara near the airport, as violence from a conflict between leaders of the Tigray region and federal forces spilled over the border. On Sunday, Debretsion Gebremichael, President of Tigray, claimed Ethiopian forces had been using Asmara airport, making it a legitimate target. “As long as troops are here fighting, we will take any legitimate military target and we will fire,” he said. Tigray's leadership has repeatedly accused Eritrea of lending support to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's troops in the conflict, a claim that both Ethiopia and Eritrea deny. "As a sovereign nation, Ethiopia reaffirms its capability and resolve to manage and handle its own rule of law operation without any external intervention," the government said in a statement on Sunday.