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ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) – The conflict in the regional state of Tigray in northern Ethiopia has displaced 2.2 million people, an Ethiopian official said Monday.
“There are 2.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Tigray, half of them whose houses were burned and lost all their property, the other half fled on foot from western Tigray and other places in Tigray to regional cities like Axum. , Shire, Adigrat and Mekelle, “Gebremeskel Kassa, head of the region’s Interim Administration Office, told state media in Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region.
“Internally displaced persons are at great risk and we are conducting widespread mobilization in collaboration with the federal government to assist them,” he said.
At least 4.5 million people are in need of emergency help, Kassa said, cautioning that the final figure is likely to be much higher, as his office has not been able to conduct a full study across the entire region.
Meanwhile, most of the health facilities in the region have been destroyed or looted during the conflict, he added.
Ethiopia’s federal government has been conducting military operations in the country’s northernmost Tigray regional state since early November against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which used to rule the region, after, according to The TPLF reportedly attacked an Ethiopian Defense Forces command base.
The standoff followed rising tensions between the ruling Ethiopian Prosperity Party and the TPLF, as each side accused the other of trying to destabilize the country.
The growing differences between the two sides were exacerbated in September, when the Tigray regional government decided to go only with its planned regional elections, which the Ethiopian parliament had previously postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Final product
