52 Civilians Killed in Tigray as Armed Groups Form Alliance — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Alamata General Hospital told the BBC that at least 52 civilians were killed between Saturday and Monday in fighting involving heavy explosives and artillery, with victims including children as young as three days old and 12 killed in a single strike on the town's marketplace.
- The Ethiopian federal military appears to have seized Alamata from TPLF fighters and intends to push north toward Mekelle, while TPLF forces are also fighting in the strategic Afar region linking landlocked Ethiopia to Djibouti's ports.
- Médecins Sans Frontières reported more than 700 wounded people admitted to hospitals it supports in Tigray over recent days, while the BBC said it could not report from the region because communications have been cut.
- An Amhara militia allied with Tigrayan fighters has clashed with the army near Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage site where 33 tourists have been stranded since the airport closed to commercial flights last Wednesday — 14 Israelis were airlifted out by military helicopter on Monday.
- Seven Ethiopian armed movements joined forces in September with the stated intention of removing the government in Addis Ababa, while the government has accused Eritrea of backing the armed groups — a claim Asmara denies.
- Ethiopia's federal government suspended banking services and cut internet access in Tigray since fighting erupted, with the clampdown freezing accounts even for Tigrayans living in Addis Ababa who can no longer complete mobile transfers.
Why it matters: A three-day Alamata assault killed 52 civilians — including infants and 12 in one marketplace strike — while a seven-member armed alliance has explicitly moved to topple the federal government, functionally burying the 2022 Pretoria deal. Banking shutdowns now reach Tigrayans in Addis Ababa, and 33 tourists remain stranded at Lalibela as fighting spills into Amhara.
Ask SkimNews
