Humanitarian aid suspended in northwestern Tigray after drone strike
Distribution of food aid from US AID in the town of Adigrat, in the Ethiopian region of Tigray, carried out in mid-May 2020 and coordinated by the Relief Society of Tigray (illustration).
© RFI / Sébastien Németh
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
Aid organizations are suspending their activities in northwestern Tigray after a deadly drone attack on a camp for internally displaced people in this region of northern Ethiopia, at war with the Ethiopian army.
Advertising
Read more
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha),
the air attack on the Dedebit IDP camp
, in north-western Tigray, would have claimed "
dozens of civilian casualties, including deaths
".
The Tigrayan rebels report 56 dead and accuse the Ethiopian government of carrying out the attack.
It is difficult to verify these statements, as access to Tigray is restricted. This strike was carried out at the same time when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he wanted to promote "
national reconciliation
" by announcing
the release of opponents
and senior officials of the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
"
The intensification of the airstrikes is alarming
", judge Ocha, who must suspend its activities in this region of Tigray where already the lack of medical equipment and fuel "
seriously disrupts the response to the wounded and has led to the almost total collapse of the health system
”.
Ocha
once again reminds all parties to the conflict that they must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law
.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Ethiopia
UN