Dozens of civilians were killed last week during airstrikes in the war-torn northern Ethiopian province of Tigray, where the death toll was the worst since October, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Monday.
The strikes from December 19 to 24 “caused massive civilian casualties, dozens of deaths in a series of airstrikes, the deadliest and heaviest since October,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.
The bombings took place in the cities of Alamata, Korem, Maitsu, Mekoni and Milazat, in southern Tigray, as well as in Mekele, the provincial capital, OCHA said, without specifying where it got its information from.
“Due to limited access and insecurity in the region, our partners (…) have not yet been able to verify the exact number of victims,” ​​the UN agency said.
He also stressed that the situation remains “tense and unpredictable” in northern Ethiopia, where aid organizations are finding it difficult to distribute food and other basic necessities to people in desperate need.
“No trucks of humanitarian aid have entered Tigray since December 14,” OCHA said, citing security concerns. “A total of 1,338 trucks have entered the area since July 12” and the amount transported there does not exceed “12% of the aid needed to meet the range of humanitarian needs”.
The conflict in Ethiopia has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people and has caused a very serious humanitarian crisis, forcing more than two million people to flee their homes, according to the UN.
War broke out in November 2020 when Ethiopian Federal Prime Minister Abi Ahmed sent troops to the province to overthrow the local government of the Tigray People’s Liberation Movement (TPLF), accusing it of ordering its fighters to send troops. and that he defied his authority.
He promised a quick victory, but the TPLF sent his army into disarray a few months later, retaking most of Tigray in June before advancing to the neighboring provinces of Afar and Amhara.
A few weeks ago, insurgents claimed they were only 200 kilometers from the capital, Addis Ababa, raising concerns among other governments that they had urged their citizens to leave Ethiopia as soon as possible.
But last week, they announced they were retreating to Tigray, a new turning point in the war. The federal government has assured that its forces will not advance into the area, which has raised hopes that a ceasefire will be declared and peace talks will begin between rival parties, as the international community has been calling for months.
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