An
airstrike in Tigray killed at least six civilians during Meskel (finding of the
true cross), a major religious holiday celebration earlier this week as the
revived war continues, according to humanitarian workers and an internal
document.
The
airstrike hit the town of Adi Daero in northwestern Tigray on Tuesday morning,
also injuring 16 civilians and destroying several homes, the document by a
non-governmental organization said.
Humanitarian
workers in the Tigray capital, Mekelle, and the Tigray’s second-largest city,
Shire, 25 kilometers from Adi Daero, confirmed the deadly attack. One of the
Shire workers said fighter jets attacked both Adi Daero and Shire almost
simultaneously. No one in Shire was injured, while some of the injured from Adi
Daero were brought to Shire, the worker told The Associated press.
All spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of
retaliation.
A
government-run Twitter account for Ethiopia claimed on Friday that the rival
Tigray forces had been "hiding its arms" in residential areas and
that Ethiopia's air force had recently targeted their "military equipment
and arsenal" in Adi Daero.
Satelliteimagery shared this week by Maxar Technologies showed a military buildup inside
Eritrea near the border with the Tigray region.
Several
airstrikes have been reported in Tigray since fighting resumed in August after
a months-long lull in the fighting. Humanitarian aid to the long-blockaded
region of more than 5 million people has again been cut off.
Tigrayan
troops accused the air force of neighboring Eritrea of attacking Adi Daero and
murdering "a number of civilians" in a statement released on
Thursday. In Tigray, Eritrean troops are engaged in combat alongside Ethiopian
troops.
“We’re
not moving any trucks in presently” and no staff has been able to enter or
leave Tigray since Aug. 24, the World Food Program’s regional director for East
Africa, Michael Dunford, told a think tank on Thursday, adding that there is a
“real need for the offensive to end, for the fighting to stop.”
He
said 89% of people in Tigray have limited food capacity and more than 40% are
“acutely food insecure.”
Dunford
said diplomats are better placed to advocate for a humanitarian truce.
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