Grim picture emerges from glimpses of Ethiopia’s Tigray war
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared victory in his military operation in the northern region of Tigray, but there are clear signs that fighting persists despite a claimed return to normalcy.
Abiy launched the offensive last November against Tigray’s ruling party, which he accused of attacking federal army camps and seeking to destabilise the country. Within weeks troops entered the regional capital of Mekele and Abiy announced military operations were “completed.”
But the government continues to give accounts of TPLF leaders slain in gun battles while the United Nations reports “insecurity” hampering aid access. And in recent weeks satellite images, public statements from military and civilian officials in Tigray and scattered accounts from residents have added to evidence of a conflict unfolding largely in the shadows. A communications blackout in much of Tigray means confirmable details remain scant.
When federal forces arrived in Mekele in late November, they encountered little resistance as the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) leadership appeared to have already fled.
And a triumphant Abiy claimed no civilians had been killed during the capture of Tigrayan cities.
Doctors at one Mekele hospital told a different story, though, saying at least 20 civilians died in the shelling.
They provided AFP with photos of survivors with gruesome injuries, including lost limbs and exposed internal organs. The International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank says thousands have died so far, and tens of thousands of refugees have streamed across the border into neighbouring
Sudan.
Federal officials have described subsequent fighting as minor operations centred on Tigrayan leaders like former regional president Debretsion Gebremichael, who has been out of contact for more than a month.
But a UN humanitarian assessment dated January 6 said Tigray remained “volatile”, with “localised fighting”.
The UN is especially worried about what happened at two camps housing over 30,000 Eritrean refugees that are inaccessible. Top officials have repeatedly sounded the alarm about reported killings, abductions and forced repatriations from the camps back to neighbouring Eritrea.
The alleged presence of soldiers from the isolated and iron-fisted Eritrean regime in Tigray has been a hotly contested aspect of the conflict. Five humanitarian workers have been confirmed killed at one of the camps, known as Hitsats.
“Reports of additional military incursions over the last 10 days are consistent with open-source satellite imagery showing new fires burning and other fresh signs of destruction at the two camps,” UN refugees chief Filippo Grandi said in a statement last Thursday.
THE INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP THINK TANK SAYS THOUSANDS HAVE DIED SO FAR