Ethiopia's Tigray conflict: Civilian bloodbath warning as offensive escalates

Diplomats are informing of a civilian bloodbath successful Ethiopia's bluish portion of Tigray if rebels are pushed retired of towns by Ethiopian and Eritrean troops.

Tigray residents accidental nutrient and aesculapian supplies are moving retired arsenic a monolithic violative connected the portion intensifies.

Cities are being carpet bombed, says Tedros Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization chief, who is from Tigray.

Civilians are being killed and those wounded cannot beryllium saved due to the fact that of a siege, he says.

Tigray has been nether a blockade for 17 months and warring has surged since a five-month humanitarian truce collapsed successful August. An estimated 1 cardinal radical are astatine hazard of starvation.

The African Union (AU) has joined the chorus of planetary voices calling for an extremity to hostilities and a recommitment to bid talks.

On Friday, an assistance idiosyncratic from the International Rescue Committee was killed portion delivering exigency nutrient to women and children successful the municipality of Shire, which has travel nether ferocious bombardment.

The EU's overseas argumentation main Josep Borrell expressed horror astatine the unit successful Shire, often directed astatine civilians.

Camps for the millions of radical displaced by the warring are besides coming nether attack, according to Samantha Power, the caput of the US's improvement agency.

If Ethiopian and Eritrean troops took power of them during the existent violative determination was "significant hazard of further assaults and killings being perpetrated against civilians", the US Aid main said.

"The staggering quality outgo of this struggle should daze the world's conscience," she added.

A nonmigratory of Tigray's main metropolis of Mekelle told the BBC determination was astir nary nutrient successful the city.

He said tiny amounts of the staple grain, teff, were being sold - astatine much than 3 times past year's price.

Drones are flying overhead constantly, terrifying the population.

He said increasing numbers of women are offering to articulation the rebel forces successful the look of the relentless onslaught of Ethiopian and Eritrean troops.

It reflects a increasing desperation amongst the Tigrayans who fearfulness they volition beryllium crushed successful the coming weeks.

So heavy is the hatred betwixt the 2 sides it seems astir inevitable that those who suffer volition beryllium punished ruthlessly.

Kjetil Tronvoll, a prof successful struggle studies astatine the Oslo New University College successful Norway, says World War One tactics are being utilized by Ethiopia's and Eritrea's infantry forces who are pushing "massive quality waves" connected Tigrayan antiaircraft lines.

The expert tweeted that successful his sentiment the world's biggest ongoing equipped struggle was presently not Russia's onslaught connected Ukraine, but the Ethiopian and Eritrean cognition against Tigray.

He suggested that up to 1 cardinal soldiers were engaged successful the offensive.

"The carnage is horrendous. Likely arsenic galore arsenic 100,000 person been slaughtered implicit the past weeks," helium tweeted.