Tigrayan forces have claimed that dozens of civilians in a camp for internally displaced people were killed in a government airstrike — indicating conflict is still ongoing despite recent reconciliation efforts.
Tigray forces said the strike hit a camp for internally displaced people, like the one pictured here in Dabat
A spokesman for Tigrayan forces said Saturday that an airstrike by the Ethiopian government killed at least 56 civilians in the country's embattled northern region.
Reports of the airstrike at the camp in Dedebit, in northwestern Tigray, came a day after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed issued a message of reconciliation on Orthodox Christmas.
What we know about the strike
"Another callous drone attack by Abiy Ahmed in an IDP [internally displaced persons] camp in Dedebit has claimed the lives of 56 innocent civilians so far," Getachew Reda, a spokesman for Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), said on Twitter.
The report could not be identified independently as access to Tigray is restricted, and the region remains under a communications blackout.
But Reuters news agency quoted aid workers as saying the strike in the town near the border with Eritrea took place late on Friday night.
A senior official told the AFP news agency that the hospital in the town where victims were taken reported 55 people dead and 126 injured.
There was no immediate comment on the strike from the government. Ethiopia has previously denied targeting civilians in the 14-month conflict with Tigrayan fighters.
Conflict continues after Christmas amnesty
On Friday, the government freed opposition leaders from several ethnic groups — including some TPLF leaders.
But the TPLF has remained skeptical of Abiy's call for national reconciliation.
"His daily routine of denying medication to helpless children and of sending drones targeting civilians flies in the face of his self-righteous claims," TPLF spokesman Getachew said Friday.
The European Union on Saturday welcomed the reconciliatory move but raised concern over the ongoing conflict.
"All parties must seize the moment to swiftly end the conflict and enter into dialogue," the bloc's foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, said in a statement.
Amid international pressure for negotiations, Ethiopian lawmakers last month approved a bill to establish a commission for national dialogue. But the commission excludes TPLF leaders.
In late December, the conflict seemed to shift as the TPLF fighters withdrew back into Tigray after approaching the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
Civilians caught in the conflict
Last month, the UN's humanitarian agency said airstrikes on Tigray between December 19 and 24 caused "mass civilian casualties."
Earlier this week, three Eritrean refugees, including two children, were killed in an airstrike on a camp in Tigray, according to the UN refugee agency.
Tens of thousands of people are believed to have been killed in the conflict that started in November 2020.
The TPLF, which once ruled the country, has accused the government of blocking aid to the Tigray region. The government has denied the allegation.
fb/wd (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Aid agencies suspend work in Tigray area hit by deadly strike: UN
Aid agencies have suspended operations in an area of Ethiopia's stricken Tigray region where a deadly air strike hit a camp for people displaced by the country's 14-month war, the UN said Sunday.
Aid agencies have suspended operations in an area of Ethiopia's stricken Tigray region where a deadly air strike hit a camp for people displaced by the country's 14-month war, the UN said Sunday.
© Amanuel Sileshi
Ethiopian government forces seized a string of strategic towns in December in a new turning point in the war
The raid came only hours after the Ethiopian government had issued a call for "national reconciliation", and sparked renewed calls from an alarmed international community for an end to the brutal conflict.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement to AFP that the attack at midnight Friday in the town of Dedebit in northwestern Tigray had "caused scores of civilian casualties including deaths", according to its preliminary information.
The raid came only hours after the Ethiopian government had issued a call for "national reconciliation", and sparked renewed calls from an alarmed international community for an end to the brutal conflict.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement to AFP that the attack at midnight Friday in the town of Dedebit in northwestern Tigray had "caused scores of civilian casualties including deaths", according to its preliminary information.
© Aude GENET Tigray is the northernmost region of Ethiopia
"Humanitarian partners suspended activities in the area due to the ongoing threats of drone strikes," it said.
Tigray rebels said Saturday that the attack had killed 56 people, while an official at the region's main hospital in the capital Mekele reported 55 dead and 126 injured.
It was not possible to independently verify the claims because access to the region is restricted and it remains under a communications blackout.
There was no response to requests for comment from Ethiopian government officials.
- Near 'total collapse' of health system -
OCHA said the lack of essential supplies, especially medical supplies and fuel, was "severely disrupting the response to the injured, and (has) led to the nearly total collapse of the health system in Tigray".
"The intensification of air strikes is alarming, and we once again remind all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law," it said.
The fighting between forces loyal to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has killed thousands of people and created a deep humanitarian crisis in the north.
Tigray itself is under what the UN calls a de facto blockade that is preventing life-saving food and medicine from reaching its six million people, including hundreds of thousands in famine-like conditions.
Doctors at the Ayder Referral Hospital earlier this month issued a statement painting a bleak picture of desperation, saying patients including children were needlessly dying because of the blockade.
- 'Unacceptable' -
The Dedebit strike came the same day that the Ethiopian government announced an amnesty for several senior TPLF figures and other high-profile opposition leaders in what it said was a bid to foster national dialogue and "unity".
The amnesty has been welcomed by the international community as a possible way out of the fighting, which has threatened to tear apart Africa's second most populous country.
It followed a dramatic turnaround in fortunes on the battlefield, with the rebels retreating to their Tigray stronghold at the end of December in the face of a military offensive that saw government forces retake a string of strategic towns.
Although there appeared to have been a lull in fighting since, the rebels have accused the government of continuing to conduct deadly drone attacks on Tigray.
OCHA reported last month that dozens of civilians were reportedly killed in the last days of December in a barrage of air raids in Tigray.
And the United Nations reported this week that three Eritrean refugees including two children had been killed in an air strike Wednesday on a refugee camp in Tigray.
The US Bureau of African Affairs has described the attacks as "unacceptable".
"We redouble our call for an immediate end to hostilities, the prompt launch of an inclusive national dialogue, and unhindered access so aid can reach all Ethiopian communities in need," it said on Twitter.
txw/jj
"Humanitarian partners suspended activities in the area due to the ongoing threats of drone strikes," it said.
Tigray rebels said Saturday that the attack had killed 56 people, while an official at the region's main hospital in the capital Mekele reported 55 dead and 126 injured.
It was not possible to independently verify the claims because access to the region is restricted and it remains under a communications blackout.
There was no response to requests for comment from Ethiopian government officials.
- Near 'total collapse' of health system -
OCHA said the lack of essential supplies, especially medical supplies and fuel, was "severely disrupting the response to the injured, and (has) led to the nearly total collapse of the health system in Tigray".
"The intensification of air strikes is alarming, and we once again remind all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law," it said.
The fighting between forces loyal to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has killed thousands of people and created a deep humanitarian crisis in the north.
Tigray itself is under what the UN calls a de facto blockade that is preventing life-saving food and medicine from reaching its six million people, including hundreds of thousands in famine-like conditions.
Doctors at the Ayder Referral Hospital earlier this month issued a statement painting a bleak picture of desperation, saying patients including children were needlessly dying because of the blockade.
- 'Unacceptable' -
The Dedebit strike came the same day that the Ethiopian government announced an amnesty for several senior TPLF figures and other high-profile opposition leaders in what it said was a bid to foster national dialogue and "unity".
The amnesty has been welcomed by the international community as a possible way out of the fighting, which has threatened to tear apart Africa's second most populous country.
It followed a dramatic turnaround in fortunes on the battlefield, with the rebels retreating to their Tigray stronghold at the end of December in the face of a military offensive that saw government forces retake a string of strategic towns.
Although there appeared to have been a lull in fighting since, the rebels have accused the government of continuing to conduct deadly drone attacks on Tigray.
OCHA reported last month that dozens of civilians were reportedly killed in the last days of December in a barrage of air raids in Tigray.
And the United Nations reported this week that three Eritrean refugees including two children had been killed in an air strike Wednesday on a refugee camp in Tigray.
The US Bureau of African Affairs has described the attacks as "unacceptable".
"We redouble our call for an immediate end to hostilities, the prompt launch of an inclusive national dialogue, and unhindered access so aid can reach all Ethiopian communities in need," it said on Twitter.
txw/jj
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