Dozens of civilians were killed last week during airstrikes in the war-torn northern Ethiopian province of Tigray, where the death toll was the worst since October, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Monday.
The strikes from December 19 to 24 "caused massive civilian casualties, dozens of deaths in a series of airstrikes, the deadliest and heaviest since October," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
The bombings took place in the cities of Alamata, Korem, Maitsu, Mekoni and Milazat, in southern Tigray, as well as in Mekele, the provincial capital, OCHA said, without specifying where it got its information from.
"Due to limited access and insecurity in the region, our partners (…) have not yet been able to verify the exact number of victims," the UN agency said.
He also stressed that the situation remains "tense and unpredictable" in northern Ethiopia, where aid organizations are finding it difficult to distribute food and other basic necessities to people in desperate need.
"No humanitarian aid truck has entered Tigray since December 14," OCHA said, citing security concerns.
"A total of 1.338 trucks have entered the area since July 12" and the amount transported there does not exceed "12% of the aid needed to meet the range of humanitarian needs."
The conflict in Ethiopia has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people and has caused a very serious humanitarian crisis, forcing more than two million people to flee their homes, according to the UN.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ-AFP