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An airstrike in the Tigray region of Ethiopia has killed 56 people and injured 30, including children, in a displacement camp, the two aides told Reuters, citing local authorities and witness accounts.
A spokesman for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which is fighting the central government in Getachew Reda, said in a tweet on Saturday: “Another sharp drone attack. [Prime Minister] Abiy Ahmed in an IDP [internally displaced people] The Dedebit camp has so far claimed the lives of 56 innocent civilians.
Another drone attack #AbiyAhmed in a #IDP in the camp #debiting It has so far claimed the lives of 56 innocent civilians. The saddest part of the story is that the victims are displaced people #WesternTigray the regime’s campaign through genocide. Double the risk at its worst!
– Getachew K Reda (@reda_getachew) January 8, 2022
In the town of Dedebit, in the northwestern region of the border near Eritrea, the attack took place on Friday night, when aid workers were asked not to give their names because they were not allowed to speak to the media.
Military Colonel Getnet Adane and government spokesman Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokesman Billene Seyoum did not respond to the request for comment.
The government has refused to target civilians in the 14-month-old conflict with rebel forces in Tigray.
Earlier on Friday, the government had he released several opposition leaders he said he would start a dialogue from prison and with political opponents to promote reconciliation.
The two aides said the number of dead in Friday’s airstrike was confirmed by local authorities. Aides told Reuters they had sent photos of the injured to the hospital, including many children.
One of the assistants who visited Shire Suhul General Hospital, which was taken to treat the injured, said the camp is home to many women and children.
“I was told the bombs came at midnight. It was completely dark and they could not escape, ”said the assistant.
One of the helpers said that 75-year-old Asefa Gebrehaworia, one of the injured in Friday’s shooting, burst into tears when she told him how her friend had been killed. He was being treated for injuries to his left leg and hand.
The fighting forced Asefa out of the house and now the airstrikes have destroyed the camp, where despite fighting the famine, she had at least a shelter, she told the aide. Humera arrived at the IDP camp from the border town.
Prior to the latest attack, at least 146 people were killed and 213 injured in airstrikes in Tigray since October 18, according to a document prepared by aid agencies and shared with Reuters this week.
‘Self-claims’
In Friday’s reconciliation movement, the government released opposition leaders from various ethnic groups. Some TPLF leaders were introduced.
The TPLF expressed skepticism about Abiy’s call for national reconciliation.
“To deny children without drugs and to send drones aimed at civilians in their daily routines in the face of their self-claims,” a Getachew spokesman said Friday.
The TPLF accuses the federal authorities of imposing a blockade on aid to the region, leading to famine and shortages such as essential fuels and medicines. The government refuses to block the passage of aid convoys.
The European Union has said that despite the positive move, the release of opposition leaders is concerned about the ongoing conflict in Tigray, citing the latest airstrike.
“All parties need to seize the moment to end the conflict quickly and start a dialogue,” the bloc said in a statement issued by High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell.
According to Teklay Gebremichael of tghat.com, which documents war crimes, the release of prisoners was an “exchange” for Abiy to launch the international community.
“I think it’s important to see the release of political prisoners in their proper context,” Gebremichael told Al Jazeera.
“In the last two months, tens of thousands of tigers and homicides have been jailed in Addis Ababa alone. About six or seven people were released yesterday. [Abiy] he tried to create a positive environment for the international community because he was interested in negotiations and a peaceful solution to the conflict to create a ploy, and in fact he continued to do what he was doing, which is to bomb and try to bomb civilians. to advance militarily into the Tigris. ‘
The savage conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and marked a litany abuses, including massacres and rapes. It has also left a serious humanitarian crisis with millions of people displaced and in need of help.
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