Air strike on market kills 64

AT LEAST 64 people were killed and 180 were injured in an air strike on a market in Ethiopia’s war-torn northern Tigray region, a local health officer said yesterday, as the army denied targeting civilians.

Details of the bloody attack on Togoga town, 30km north-west of the regional capital Mekele, on Tuesday were slow to emerge partly because soldiers initially blocked emergency workers from accessing the area.

By yesterday, hospitals in Mekele were treating at least 73 people, including young children.

Victims suffered shrapnel wounds and burns, and in some cases doctors were forced to perform amputations to save lives.

The Ethiopian military admitted carrying out the attack but said it targeted rebel fighters, not civilians.

The health officer told AFP at least 64 people had died.

“The air strike was in the market area, so many, many people were injured,” said Mulu Atsbaha, an adviser to the Tigray regional administration on maternal and child health. | AFP