Ethiopia: UNICEF condemns airstrike on "kindergarten" in the city of Mekele
A market in the Ethiopian province of Tigray, May 2021 (illustration image).
© RFI/ Sébastien Németh
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
In Ethiopia, Unicef condemns an air strike carried out on Friday August 26) in the Tigray region which "
hit a
kindergarten
".
Fighting resumed Wednesday, August 24, in northern Ethiopia between government forces and Tigrayan rebels, ending a five-month truce.
On Friday August 26, an airstrike carried out by Ethiopian forces on the city of Mekele, capital of Tigray, reportedly killed four people, including two children.
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“
Once again, children have paid a high price for an escalation of violence
,” denounces the UN Children's Fund (Unicef), in a press release.
For nearly two years, children and their families in the region have suffered the horrors of this conflict.
It “
must stop
”, adds the organization.
"
Bombs on a residential area
"
This condemnation by Unicef is the first international confirmation that a kindergarten has been hit, as claimed by the rebel authorities in Tigray.
According to the rebels, a plane "
dropped bombs on a residential area and a kindergarten in Mekele
" on the morning of Friday 26 August.
The Ethiopian government rejects these accusations, adding that the Ethiopian military aviation only targets "
military sites
" and accuses the rebels of staging.
An official of the Mekele hospital, contacted by AFP, indicates that his establishment received, on Friday, four dead including two children and nine injured.
Information difficult to confirm
Information from this region is difficult to confirm.
Journalists do not have access to northern Ethiopia and communications are often cut off.
Fighting resumed on Wednesday August 24 between the federal government and the rebel authorities in Tigray.
The two parties mutually reject responsibility for the resumption of hostilities.
Read also: Ethiopia: the Tigrayan rebels and the central government accuse each other of breaking the truce
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