Ethiopia: TDF accuses UN of lying as conflict in Tigray escalates
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NAIROBI, Kenya – The Tigray Defense Forces [TDF] accused a UN body of misleading the public about alleged deaths in Galicoma in the Afar region, where the separatist group has been accused of opening fire, killing children and innocent women .
Henrietta Fore, the Executive Director of UNICEF, released a statement last week accusing TDF of killing more than 200 people in Galicoma, mostly children and women. The attack, she argued, also left thousands of people without food and shelter.
“UNICEF is extremely alarmed by the reported killings of more than 200 people, including more than 100 children, in attacks on displaced families sheltering in a health center and school in Afar region on Thursday 5 August. Critical food supplies have also reportedly been destroyed in a region already experiencing emergency levels of malnutrition and food insecurity, ”she noted.
“The intensification of fighting in Afar and other parts of Tigray is disastrous for children. This follows months of armed conflict across Tigray which have placed some 400,000 people, including at least 160,000 children, in conditions bordering on famine, ”she said.
“Four million people are in a situation of crisis or food insecurity in Tigray and in the neighboring regions of Afar and Amhara. More than 100,000 have been newly displaced by the recent fighting, adding to the 2 million people already uprooted from their homes.
TDF has moved closer to Afar and Amhara regions, where it is keen to prevent “expansionist” forces from retaking most parts of Tigray. This has led to the escalation of the conflict, which at times began last year when the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] launched an operation in Tigray.
But Getachew Rada, TDF spokesperson, now says UNICEF has given the federal government unsubstantiated “claims” that are now being used to portray the force as an enemy of the people. According to him, Addis Ababa confesses to such allegations, destroying the reputation of the forces.
Although he did not admit or deny that TDF was responsible for the facts, Rada asked UNICEF to work closely with the TDF administration to establish what may have happened in Afar. He also vowed that the force of Tigray will not leave the two regions “as long as our security is not guaranteed”.
“UNICEF has a lot to explain why they came up with a statement which is being used by Abiy Ahmed to denigrate the integrity of our forces in Galicoma, Afar. While it is natural that they respond to such allegations as quickly as they can. they could, verifying the facts on the ground would have saved them from a potentially awkward position, ”he said.
“We in the government of Tigray would once again express our willingness to cooperate with UNICEF or other relevant agencies in an independent investigation into the matter. We are against impunity. “
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