By Ebi Kesiena
United Nations has disclosed that atleast 108 civilians have been killed since New Year in a series of airstrikes in the war-torn northern Tigray region of Ethiopia. Yeah
The UN also warned of a looming humanitarian disaster in the region, with its food distribution operations on the verge of grinding to a halt.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Twitter: “My appeal to the parties: stop the fighting in all its forms.
All people who need humanitarian aid must receive it as quickly as possible. It’s time to start dialogue and reconciliation.”
The UN human rights office urged the Ethiopian authorities to ensure the protection of civilians, saying disproportionate attacks hitting non-military targets could amount to war crimes.
Northern Ethiopia has been beset by conflict since November 2020 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray after accusing the region’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), of attacks on federal army camps.
“We are alarmed by the multiple, deeply disturbing reports we continue to receive of civilian casualties and destruction of civilian objects resulting from airstrikes in Ethiopia’s Tigray region,” rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva.
“At least 108 civilians have reportedly been killed and 75 others injured since the year began, as a result of air strikes allegedly carried out by the Ethiopian air force.”
She detailed a series of airstrikes, including the January 7 attack on the Dedebit camp for internally displaced persons, which left at least 56 dead and 30 others wounded, of which three later died in hospital.
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