Ethiopian women who fled the ongoing fighting in the Tigray region gather in Hamdayet village near the Setit river on the Sudan-Ethiopia border in eastern Kassala state, Sudan, November 22, 2020.
"We are also concerned by reports that the TPLF has deployed its forces in heavily populated areas. They need to ensure the safety of civilians under their control," it said.Thousands of people are already believed to have died and there has been widespread destruction from aerial bombardment and ground fighting since the war began on Nov 4. Around 42,000 refugees have fled over the border to Sudan. TPLF rockets have hit neighbouring Eritrea.
Tigray's regional state television reported on Wednesday that fighters had destroyed a large force of Eritrean troops moving towards a town 70 km north of Mekelle. It provided no evidence. The conflict pits Ethiopia's central government against the TPLF, which dominated the country for decades until Abiy took power two years ago. Ethiopia is a federation of 10 regions run by separate ethnic groups. Tigrayans make up around 5 percent of the population but had outsized influence as the most powerful force in a multi-ethnic ruling coalition from 1991-2018.
The senior diplomat told Reuters that foreign concern was growing at indications of both "clear ethnic violence" and "Eritrean involvement in some way." On the ground, long lines of cars formed at fuel stations in Mekelle, where there has been rationing, according to Nov 23 satellite images provided to Reuters by Maxar Technologies.
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