Witnesses say airstrike in Ethiopia's Tigray has killed dozens
An airstrike hit a busy market in Ethiopia's northern Tigray village of Togoga on Tuesday, according to health workers who said soldiers blocked medical teams from traveling to the scene. Two doctors and a nurse in Tigray's regional capital, Mekele, told The Associated Press they were unable to confirm how many were killed, but health workers at the scene believe over 80 civilians died.
Tigray region has witnessed fierce fighting recently
The alleged airstrike comes amid some of the fiercest fighting in the Tigray region since the conflict began in November as Ethiopian forces supported by those from neighboring Eritrea pursue Tigray's former leaders.
'A baby died after ambulance was blocked for two hours'
Wounded patients being treated at Mekele's Ayder hospital told health workers that a plane dropped a bomb on Togoga's marketplace. The six patients included a two-year-old child with abdominal trauma and a six-year-old, the nurse said. An ambulance carrying a wounded baby to Mekele was blocked for two hours and the baby died on the way, the nurse added.
Witnesses recall seeing over 50 dead bodies
Hailu Kebede, foreign affairs head for the Salsay Woyane Tigray opposition party and who comes from Togoga, told the AP that one fleeing witness to the attack had counted more than 30 bodies and other witnesses were reporting more than 50 people killed.
No one knows whether jets came from Ethiopia or Eritrea
It was horrific, said a staffer with an international aid group who told the AP he had spoken with a colleague and others at the scene. "We don't know if the jets were coming from Ethiopia or Eritrea. They are still looking for bodies by hand. More than 50 people were killed, maybe more," he said.
Soldiers turned back ambulances attempting to reach Togoga: Health workers
On Tuesday afternoon, a convoy of ambulances attempting to reach Togoga, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Mekele, was turned back by soldiers near Tukul, the health workers said. Several more ambulances were turned back later in the day and on Wednesday morning, but one group of medical workers reached the site on Tuesday evening via a different route.
We are awaiting permission to evacuate the grievously injured: Doctor
Those medical workers were treating 40 wounded people but told colleagues in Mekele that the number of wounded is likely higher as some people fled after the attack. Five of the wounded patients were said to need emergency operations but the health workers were unable to evacuate them. "We have been asking, but until now we didn't get permission to go," a doctor said.
Red Cross ambulance was shot at twice: Doctor
Another doctor said the Red Cross ambulance he was traveling in was shot at twice by Ethiopian soldiers, who held his team for 45 minutes before ordering them back to Mekele. "They told us whoever goes, they are helping the troops of TPLF," he said.
The conflict has killed thousands, over 2mn ousted from homes
The TPLF refers to the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which governed Tigray until it was ousted by a federal government offensive in November. The subsequent fighting has killed thousands and forced over two million people from homes. While the United Nations says all sides have been accused of abuses, witnessed have repeatedly accused Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers of looting and destroying health centers.
