As the civil war in Ethiopia rages on, the head of the main hospital in the Tigray region’s capital says two airstrikes Wednesday morning have killed at least ten people.
The first airstrike hit Mekelle, the regional capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region at around 7.30 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to Dr. Kibrom Gebreselassie, the director of the flagship Ayder hospital in the capital.
The Tigray region’s leadership and doctors at the hospital say the Ethiopian government is using drones for the latest attacks. VOA could not independently verify these allegations.
The second occurred shortly afterward. According to Dr. Kibrom, the attacks hit a “residential” part of the city, attacking civilians.
In total, he said, ten deaths have been confirmed so far. Hospital officials said that other cases were being rushed to surgery both at Ayder and the nearby Mekelle General Hospital.
A surgeon at Ayder Hospital told the Reuters news agency that the second strike hit rescuers who were trying to help people injured by the first attack.
Wednesday’s airstrikes are the latest of several to hit Mekelle since fighting resumed in Tigray in late August. The hostilities ended a truce declared by the federal government in March, which had allowed much-needed aid supplies to reach the northern region.
On Sunday, the Tigray regional leadership called for a cessation of hostilities and said they had set up a team of mediators ready to enter peace talks with the federal government, which has yet to respond to the statement.
Since then, heavy fighting has been reported along Tigray’s northern, southern and western borders.
