NAIROBI (Reuters) - The leader of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region said government air strikes had killed an unspecified number of civilians in recent days and vowed to defend his people until federal authorities realise “we cannot be subjugated by their knife”.The week-old conflict between federal government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a powerful ethnic faction which governs the mountainous northern region, threatens to destabilise Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa. At issue is the cohesion of a country of 115 million people, where conflict among different ethnic groups has killed hundreds of people since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018. Abiy, who won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, ordered the air strikes and sent troops into Tigray last week after accusing forces loyal to the Tigrayan leadership of attacking a federal military base. The government says the offensive will restore peace and order. Both sides say they are making advances but have not provided evidence to support their claims. Tigray’s president Debretsion Gebremichael, who is chairman of the TPLF, denied that Tigrayan troops had initiated any attacks and said they were acting in self defence, without providing evidence. In a telephone interview and text messages, he told Reuters that civilians had been injured and killed in air strikes in the town of Adigrat and the regional capital, Mekelle. “The way I see it from the prime minister, I don’t think peace will come soon, because he believes that he can crush us, he believes he can do everything by his armed forces,” Debretsion said. “Until he learns he will not make it, I don’t think there will be peace.”