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The United Nations announced, after a new airstrike in Ethiopia in the northeast of the Tigray region, that humanitarian aid organizations in the area will cease their activities. It also reported that dozens of civilians lost their lives in the incident.
At midnight on Friday, the Ethiopian town of Dedebit witnessed a new air strike. It hit a camp for internally displaced persons, killing dozens of people and injuring multiple people. The event prompted humanitarian aid organizations to announce that they will suspend their activities in the northeast of the Tigray region.
“Humanitarian partners have suspended activities in the region due to continued threats of drone attacks,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told the AFP news agency.
On Saturday, Getachew Reda, the spokesman for the Tigray Popular Liberation Front, a group that controls much of the region, blamed the Ethiopian government for carrying out the attack. “Another callous drone attack by Abiy Ahmed on an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Dedebit has claimed the lives of 56 innocent civilians so far,” he said.
For its part, the Government has not ruled on the incident. But in the past he has denied attacking civilians during the 14-month conflict with the Tigray forces.
The exact figures left by the attack are still unknown due to restricted communications in the region. However, the Reuters news agency announced that according to humanitarian workers, 56 people lost their lives and another 30 were injured.
The withdrawal of humanitarian assistance in the area adds to the complex panorama that the region is experiencing. In fact, according to the OCHA, the lack of medical equipment and fuel “seriously disrupts the response to the injured and has caused the almost total collapse of the health system in Tigray.”
For its part, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray has denounced that the Government has imposed a blockade on the area, which has worsened the famine situation in that region and the lack of basic elements. The Government denies these claims.
The intentions of “dialogue” and “reconciliation” falter after the attack
The attack takes place within the framework of certain steps taken by the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, towards dialogue and reconciliation in the country. On Friday, the government announced that it released several opposition leaders, including members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray.
The objective was to find ways out of the conflict that began in November 2020. Since then, the Tigray forces have clashed with the Ethiopian Government military forces, leaving tens of thousands of people dead.
In June of last year, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray once again took control of a large part of the region. In November, they even announced that they were 200 km from Addis Ababa, the capital.
However, in December, faced with a government offensive, they withdrew in Tigray. Since then, the fighting had subsided, but the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray has denounced multiple airstrikes.
A situation that has led the UN to call for the pacification of the region. “The intensification of air strikes is alarming, and once again we remind all parties to the conflict that they must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law,” OCHA ruled.
According to figures collected by Reuters, at least 146 people were killed and 213 injured in airstrikes since October 18 in that area.
In addition, the United Nations refugee agency (ANCUR) reported another airstrike last week that killed three Eritrean refugees, two of whom were children.
Some “unacceptable” attacks for the International Community
Through its Twitter account, the US State Department’s Office of African Affairs called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and “the swift launch of an inclusive national dialogue and unhindered access so that aid can arrive. to all Ethiopian communities that need it. “
The European Union had stated that while the release of the opposition leaders was a positive step, it was concerned about the course of the conflict in the Tigray region.
“All parties must seize the moment to quickly put an end to the conflict and enter into dialogue,” declared the High Representative for Foreign Affairs of the European Union, Josep Borrell.
With Reuters, AFP and AP
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