Ethiopia conflict killed thousands in embattled Tigray region, asserts TPLF fugitive

As war impacted refugees flood the Tekeze riverbank on the Sudan-Ethiopia border in Hamdayet despite the Ethiopian army’s blockade, a fugitive official from Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) claimed that thousands of civilians and pro-TPLF forces were killed in the embattled Tigray region. In a televised interview with the state’s Tigray TV, Getachew Reda incited the 6 million civilians in the region to “rise and deploy to battle in tens of thousands” against Ethiopian armed forces.

In a telephonic interview with The Associated Press, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) defiant leader Debretsion Gebremichael called on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to withdraw the military troops that had waged war ‘on every front’ as he ambushed near the Tigray capital, Mekelle, calling the conflict “madness”. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian army said it “fully captured” the region in a military operation that it concluded. 

Reda’s claims remain unverified as the agencies' sources were unable to identify the accurate figures of the casualties with communications and transport links still largely severed to the region. “It’s difficult to know the situation on the ground, including the number of civilians killed,” AP reported. The international crisis groups cited thousands killed after troops launched a military offensive in Tigray and fighter jets carried out series of airstrikes in a campaign targeting leaders of the region’s ruling party. An estimated tens of thousands fled to neighbouring Sudan. The UN launched at least two assessment missions in the region to provide emergency relief to the civilians from the humanitarian catastrophe after an agreement was signed with the Ethiopian government that gives unconditional access to the UN into the conflict-ridden region. 

Read: Ethiopian PM Summons Parliament Over Tigray Conflict

Read: Tigray Leader Slams Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed Over Military Offensive; Urges Ceasefire

'Fierce' bombardment

Despite communication blackouts, the aide of the UN confirmed that as many as 600,000 people living in Tigray were struck with food shortages and depended on handouts, which included 96,000 Eritrean refugees. Prior to the military confrontation, at least 42,000 women and children and close to 100,000  displaced ethnic population was malnourished, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed an acute medical equipment shortage, as the UN refugee agency warned the Eritrean refugees had totally run out of basic amenities. 

Abiy’s caretaker administration in Tigray headed by Mulu Nega, however, said in an address on the state-affiliated Fana Broadcaster that the administrators had been installed in the Tigray town of Shire. CNN, meanwhile, was informed by the humanitarian sources on the ground and eyewitnesses that the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) were still carrying out fierce bombardment in the region. In its preliminary report, Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) confirmed widespread door-to-door raids for Amharas and Wolkait and the massacre of the civilians in Mai-Kadra (May Cadera) town in the southwest Zone of Ethiopia.

Read: EU Commissioner Meets Tigray Refugees In Sudan

Read: UN And Ethiopia Sign Deal For Aid Access To Tigray

(Image Credit: Unsplash/@jorgefdezsalas)