ADDIS ABABA, Nov 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hospitals in the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region faced an influx of trauma patients, an aid group said, after federal troops claimed control of the city and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said fighting was over.
Abiy declared victory on Saturday evening in a three-week military confrontation with leaders of Tigray’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
On Sunday the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said health workers in Mekele were struggling with shortages of food and medical supplies including body bags.
At Ayder Referral Hospital, one of the city’s biggest, the ICRC said it “found approximately 80 per cent of patients to be suffering from trauma injuries,”, without specifying how the injuries were sustained.
“The influx of wounded forced the hospital to suspend many other medical services so that limited staff and resources could be devoted to emergency medical care,” the ICRC said in a statement.
It also noted that Mekele was “quiet” on Sunday, the latest indication the TPLF opted to retreat rather than face government troops in a city that, before the conflict, had a population of half a million.
Abiy announced on Nov 4 he was sending federal troops into Tigray in response to attacks by pro-TPLF forces on federal army camps.
The move marked a dramatic escalation of tensions between Abiy and the TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades before anti-government protests swept Abiy to office in 2018.
After securing control of western Tigray and giving TPLF leaders a 72-hour ultimatum to surrender, Abiy announced on Thursday he had ordered a “final offensive” against pro-TPLF forces in Mekele.
A military spokesman, General Mohamed Tessema, said that operations were proceeding “very well” and that soldiers were “doing their work peacefully”, but said he could offer no details.
A top commander in the Tigray operations, Lieutenant General Bacha Debele, said the military was “ready to prevent any possible suicide attacks by the TPLF military government in the future,” according to a report by state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate.
Abiy had said police were working to apprehend the party leadership, who were not reachable Sunday, their whereabouts unknown.
He says his government is now focused on rebuilding Tigray and providing humanitarian assistance to the population of six million. — NNN-AGENCIES