According to Amnesty International, numerous civilians are said to have been killed in the attack on a city in the conflict in the Ethiopian region of Tigray. The human rights organization announced yesterday, citing eyewitness reports, photos and videos that it had checked, that “dozens” and “probably hundreds” of people had been “massacred” in the town of Mai-Kadra in southwest Tigray.
The bodies wore gashes that appeared to have been caused by sharp weapons like knives and machetes, Amnesty said. The organization has not yet been able to find out who was responsible for the attack.
According to eyewitnesses, the attack was carried out by organizations allied with the ruling party in Tigray, the People’s Liberation Front TPLF. In the conflict over the region in the north of the country, the TPLF and the army of the Ethiopian central government are fighting each other in Addis Ababa. The TPLF did not comment on the attack on Mai-Kadra.
Expert warns of regional expansion of the conflict
The EU Commission warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in Ethiopia. The Ethiopia expert from the Science and Politics Foundation, Annette Weber, said that there is a risk that the conflict will spread regionally. That would lead to large waves of migration to Europe as well.
The United Nations meanwhile appealed to the government in Addis Ababa to provide „immediate and unhindered“ access for humanitarian aid in Tigray. According to UN estimates, more than two million people in Tigray are dependent on humanitarian aid. In addition, more than 11,000 people have fled to neighboring Sudan since the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched the military operation against the TPLF on Wednesday last week.
New head of government appointed in Tigray
The Ethiopian parliament today appointed a new head of government in the breakaway Tigray region. The decision came a day after parliament had overturned Tigray’s previous president, Debretsion Gebremichael. Gebremichael was elected in September and is head of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front TPLF. The central government in Addis Ababa did not recognize the election, however, which has now led to a military conflict.
