Ethiopia’s Tigray crisis: Mekelle hospital fights the attack – Red Cross

The main hospital in the capital of the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia is “dangerously low” in supplies as it treats those wounded from the fighting in the city, says the Red Cross.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had said that federal forces had taken control of the city.

He described it as the “last phase” in the three-week struggle with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

But the TPLF leader promised to keep fighting, in a statement to Reuters.

Few details of Tigray have emerged during the fighting, as communications were cut off.

The statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) offers a rare glimpse of events on the ground during the conflict, in which hundreds have reportedly died and tens of thousands have fled their homes.

The ICRC said that Ethiopian Red Cross ambulances had transferred “injured and dead people” to Ayder referral hospital.

During a visit to the hospital, ICRC staff found that “80% of the patients were injured” and added that other services had to be suspended “so that limited staff and resources could be dedicated to emergency medical care.”

“The hospital is running dangerously low on stitches, antibiotics, blood thinners, painkillers and even gloves,” said the ICRC director in Ethiopia, Maria Soledad.

The hospital is also running out of body bags for the deceased, the Geneva-based organization said.

However, the ICRC did not provide figures on the number of injuries or deaths. It also did not say whether the victims were civilians or military.

In a statement on Twitter on Saturday, Abiy said the army had full control of Mekelle and that this “marks the completion of the [military’s] last phase “.

“I am pleased to share that we have completed and ceased military operations in the Tigray region,” he said.

He added that the army had released thousands of soldiers taken over by the TPLF and had control of the airport and regional offices, and said the operation had been carried out with “due care for the citizens.”

The prime minister has consistently described the TPLF leaders as a “criminal cabal” and said the police “will bring them to justice.”

In a text message to Reuters, TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael did not comment directly on the situation on the ground, but said of government forces: “Your brutality can only add [to] our determination to fight these invaders to the end. “

He added: “It is about defending our right to self-determination.”

The whereabouts of Mr. Debretsion are unknown.

A TPLF statement read on Tigray regional television read: “Fascist bombings have caused civilian deaths and injuries. The Tigray government has promised to retaliate against the barbaric bombings.”

Tigray TV and another station in the region were taken off the air.

Analysts say the TPLF may now be preparing to return to the mountains to launch a guerrilla war against the federal government.

The UN had warned of possible war crimes if the Ethiopian army attacked Mekelle.

It has also expressed concern about the lack of access for humanitarian workers.

Ethiopian authorities said Thursday that a government-supervised “humanitarian access route” would be opened, adding that they were “committed to working with UN agencies … to protect civilians and those in need.”

Also on Thursday, Ethiopian troops were deployed along Tigray’s border with Sudan, preventing people fleeing the violence from leaving the country, according to the refugees.

In an update released Saturday, the UN said that more than 40,000 Ethiopians had crossed since the fighting began in early November.

Ethiopia’s state-appointed Human Rights Commission has accused a group of young people from Tigray of being behind a massacre this month in which it says more than 600 non-Tigrayan civilians in the city of Mai-Kadra were killed. . The TPLF denied their involvement.

In a meeting on Friday, Abiy told African peace envoys that civilians would be protected.

TPLF fighters, mostly from a paramilitary unit and a well-trained local militia, are believed to number about 250,000.

The organization was founded in the 1970s and led the uprising against the Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam, who was overthrown in 1991.

It then went on to be the dominant political force in the country until Abiy became prime minister in 2018.

Mr. Debretsion has said that the Tigray forces were “ready to die in defense of our right to administer our region.”

The conflict is rooted in a long-standing tension between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF, sparked by Abiy’s moves to marginalize the party.

When Abiy postponed a national election due to the coronavirus in June, relations deteriorated further.

The TPLF said the government’s mandate to rule had expired, arguing that Abiy had not been tested in a national election.

In September, the party held its own elections, which the government said were “illegal”.

In early November, TPLF fighters entered a military base in Mekelle, triggering the start of the federal army operation in Tigray.