Bombing, looting and skirmishes persisted in parts of Ethiopia’s Tigray on Saturday, a rebellious force in the northern region said after government troops declared they were within days of capturing the group’s leaders.
A month of fighting between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s federal army and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is believed to have killed thousands of people and driven some 46,000 refugees into neighboring Sudan.
Abiy’s government has said the conflict is winding down a week after it seized Tigray’s regional capital, Mekelle, but TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael told reporters in a text message on Saturday there was still fighting outside the city.
Photo: AFP
He said federal forces bombed the town of Abbi Adi on Friday, without giving further details, while a TPLF spokesman accused government troops of looting in Mekelle.
“[They are] looting civilian properties, hotels and damaging factories after looting,” the spokesman Getachew Reda told a TPLF-owned TV station.
Most communications in Tigray are down and access to the area is severely restricted, making it hard to verify either side’s statements.
Army Colonel Shambel Beyene said late on Friday that government forces were 10km away from a forest in the Gore area where Debretsion, Getachew and other TPLF members were thought to be hiding.
“We will only need a few days to get to them,” he said on state television.
Meanwhile, relief agencies are worried about a lack of food, fuel, medicines and even body bags in Tigray. Convoys are on standby to take aid in.
Residents in the town of Shire told a new government-appointed provisional administration that the cost of groceries was skyrocketing and fuel shortages were grounding ambulances.
“Residents are still staying away from their homes. Women are hiding in caves with their children,” one man said at a meeting aired on EBC late on Friday.
Fighting in the region has severely hampered efforts to fight one of Africa’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks, as almost 1 million displaced people have strained relief services to the breaking point.
More than 45,000 refugees from the Tigray are now living in remote parts of Sudan, where they have taken shelter in crowded camps that have no COVID-19 testing or treatment capabilities.
However, few of the refugees see the pandemic as their first concern, having witnessed deadly attacks as they fled Ethiopia.
Additional reporting by AP
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