from ADANE BIKILA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ethiopia Bureau
ADDIS ABABA, (CAJ News) – THE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has condemned the killing of minors during bombardments in northern Ethiopia, where fighting has reignited.
An unspecified number of children have been killed and others injured over the past few days on the volatile Afar region, on the border of Tigray.
The casualties have been documented from incidents of shelling.
“Yet again, the re-escalation of indiscriminate violence in northern Ethiopia has robbed children of their lives,” UNICEF stated.
Priscilla Ofori-Amanfo, Communication Specialist at UNICEF Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa, made the statement available.
“Once again, UNICEF calls on all parties to agree to an immediate cessation of hostilities – for the sake of the children in Ethiopia and their future,” Ofori-Amanfo said.
Tigray has been in crisis since late 2020 after the regional administration defied the federal government.
Conflict had subsided following the ‘humanitarian truce’ declared by the federal government in March 2022.
After months of ceasefire, fighting has again flared up.
Both sides- the government and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – blame each other for initiating the fighting.
A lack of progress towards negotiations to end the conflict has been a source of frustration.
– CAJ News