Ethiopia fighting escalates in Tigray killing 52 civilians, medic tells the BBC

Ethiopia fighting intensifies in Tigray, killing 52 civilians, medic tells the BBC

Tanks and armoured vehicles were filmed moving through Alamata after several days of clashes

At least 52 civilians have been killed in three days of intense fighting around Alamata in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, hospital sources told the BBC.

It appears government forces have seized the town from regional fighters and plan to advance north toward Mekelle, the region’s main city. Social media footage shows army tanks on the streets of Alamata.

The clashes began last week after months of tension between the government and the party that governs Tigray, with both sides accusing the other of breaching a 2022 agreement that ended a two-year civil war.

The violence has also spread to nearby regions, leaving 33 tourists stranded for the past week in Lalibela, a Unesco world heritage site.

“We have heard fighting, gunfire and artillery cannons firing throughout the week,” a British tourist, who asked not to be named, told the BBC’s Newsday programme about clashes near Lalibela in the Amhara region.

He said there was a heavy military presence in Lalibela, known for its 13th Century rock-hewn churches and as a holy site for millions of Orthodox Christians.

The fighting around the town has involved the army and an Amhara militia allied with Tigrayan fighters.

Earlier in September, they joined other Ethiopian armed movements to create a seven-member alliance with the declared aim of removing the government in the capital, Addis Ababa.

There is also concern that neighbouring Eritrea could be pulled into the conflict, as the government accuses Asmara of backing the armed groups, which it denies.

The BBC cannot report from Tigray and surrounding areas, and it is difficult to determine what is happening because communications to the region have been cut.

The two sides disagree over who began the latest fighting.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that governs Tigray, says it was responding to a federal offensive, including drone strikes, while the government says Tigrayan forces struck first after taking control of airports in the region.

TPLF fighters are also battling in the Afar region, a strategic area linking landlocked Ethiopia to Djibouti and its ports.

Over the past few days, medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said more than 700 wounded people had been admitted to hospitals it supports in Tigray.

The doctor at Alamata General Hospital, who asked not to be named, told the BBC the fighting in and around the town took place between Saturday and Monday and involved heavy explosives and artillery, some of which hit residential homes.

Those killed in the crossfire included children as young as three days old, mothers and cattle herders.

Twelve people died in a single strike on the town’s marketplace, the medic said.

Since the fighting began, the government has suspended banking services in Tigray. Internet access has also been cut, though it is unclear who ordered the shutdown.

A separate source in Alamata told the BBC there was a worsening humanitarian crisis in the area as the town filled with people fleeing the fighting.

“All the residents of the surrounding areas entered the town of Alamata by walking on foot for as long as an hour, hoping the town would be safe.

“Unfortunately, everything is blocked - no banking service, no money transfer, no power, no internet, no phone. Hence people are in crisis, simply suffering, everyone is desperate and frustrated.”

The British tourist in Lalibela said online banking was functioning there, but physical cash was in short supply.

He said the situation around the town had eased over the past two days and there were signs the airport, which was still being used by the military, could reopen on Thursday.

“The local people, they are still scared of what might happen. The military presence here in the town has remained and a larger military force has been seen leaving the town heading north,” he said.

When the airport was first shut to commercial flights, 53 tourists were in the town, he explained.

Some have since been evacuated, including 14 Israelis by military helicopter on Monday and another five who left the previous day in an NGO convoy, despite advice not to travel by road.

Among the remaining tourists in Lalibela, the biggest group were Americans, with Israelis, Britons, South Korean, South Africans, an Ethiopian-New Zealander and a Mexican also stranded, he said.

Meanwhile, for those cut off in Tigray because of the telecoms shutdown, the Tigray Broadcasting Service (TBS), based in Addis Ababa, has launched an effort to help reconnect families.

The broadcaster said it will gather video messages through its Telegram channel from people outside the region and broadcast them via satellite TV.

Although limited to greetings and updates, this will offer a rare lifeline for families separated by the blackout.

The clampdown on Tigray’s banking services is also affecting Tigrayans who are not physically in the region.

Customers have told the BBC that bank accounts opened in Tigray have been frozen or restricted.

“I boarded public transport from Addis Ababa to Adama and tried to pay using a mobile transfer, but it didn’t work,” said a former Mekelle resident who moved to the capital two months ago because of rising tensions in Tigray.

“It has created havoc for many people like me who escaped the situation in Tigray,” he told the BBC’s Tigrinya service.

“Many Tigrayans are now in trouble.”