Civilian Toll Rises as Ethiopia’s Tigray Conflict Intensifies
In Alamata, a small town in northern Tigray, at least 52 civilians have been killed over three days of heavy fighting between government troops and Tigrayan forces, hospital officials report to the BBC.
Social‑media videos show tanks and armoured vehicles marching down Alamata’s streets as the army takes control of the town and prepares to push north toward Mekelle, the region’s main city.
The clash follows months of tension between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), both accusing each other of violating a 2022 cease‑fire that ended a two‑year civil war.
Conflict spills over into neighbouring regions: 33 tourists have been stranded for a week in Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage site, while the airport there was closed to commercial flights after the fighting intensified. Several Israelis were evacuated by military helicopter and other tourists have left via NGO convoys.
The Tigrayan Broadcasting Service surrogates for story‑tellers, collecting video messages on its Telegram channel and airing them through satellite TV so families separated by the blackout can still hear each other.
Bank accounts opened in Tigray have been frozen or restricted, affecting not only those inside the region but also refugees who live elsewhere. One former Mekelle resident described the chaos of attempting to use mobile money after traveling from Addis Ababa.
Medical charities report that over 700 wounded were admitted to hospitals, with many casualties including children as young as three days old, mothers and cattle‑herders. One market strike alone killed twelve people according to an anonymous doctor.
The government blames the TPLF for launching a federal offensive, citing drone strikes, while the TPLF claims it was reacting to army aggression and claims of seized airports. The conflict also involves an Amhara militia allied with Tigrayan fighters, and fears that Eritrea may become drawn into the fighting after accusations of support for armed groups.
With limited on‑ground reporting and widespread cuts to telecoms, the full extent of the violence remains unclear. The fighting threatens to deepen the humanitarian crisis and destabilise a fragile region that already bears the scars of years of conflict.
