The surge in airstrikes in Tigray, Ethiopia lead to a rise in civilian casualties

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ADDIS ABABA - More than 17 people have been killed since the resumption of hostilities in Ethiopia's Tigray region, it has now emerged, with most of the strikes are being activated by the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] with the help of their Eritrean counterparts, who are still within Western Tigray.

The fighting resumed on August 24 after the Air Force bombed Mekelle, the regional administrative capital of Tigray, killing over 7 people mostly innocent civilians and children. Since then, reports indicate, there have been a number of drone strikes across Tigray which have claimed a total of 17 people.

According to local authorities in Tigray, the latest drone strike was launched on Sunday and it targeted a World Food Programme [WFP] vehicle which was carrying food to the Tigray region. The driver of the truck was critically injured, a move that could trigger the suspension of distribution of food in the area.

Two humanitarian workers, who asked not to be named, told Reuters that food distribution operations by another aid agency had been disrupted by shelling in Tigray. The WFP, an agency of the UN, has been struggling to access the region due to restrictions by the Ethiopian government.

In response, the government's communication department claimed it cautioned aid agencies to avoid the area, noting that it was taking preventive measures against the attacks allegedly being triggered by the Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF].

The communication service said that in the past aid transport vehicles had been hijacked and that the TPLF had transported its combatants on trucks painted with U.N. logos. The truck was delivering food to internally displaced persons within the Tigray region.

Since then, no truck carrying food aid has entered Tigray, the WFP said. It says an estimated 13 million people in Tigray and the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar are in "desperate need of food assistance".

The government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been at loggerheads with TPLF over political reasons leading to the current standoff. The two parties have been fighting since November 2020, leading to the deaths of thousands of people.

The WFP said in August nearly half of Tigray's population was at risk of starvation while fuel, medicine, and cash were in very short supply. Aid agencies say millions in Tigray, are still largely cut off from the world. Communications and banking services are severed.

The resumption of the war and re-entry of Eritrea into the Tigray offensive could potentially complicate the AU-US-led peace efforts in Ethiopia. The mediators are yet to meet the warring teams jointly before coming up with terms and conditions, paving way for smooth negotiations.

GAROWE ONLINE

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