Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has reported its staff witnessed at least four civilians dragged off buses and killed by Ethiopian soldiers in the African country's war-hit state of Tigray
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2021) Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has reported its staff witnessed at least four civilians dragged off buses and killed by Ethiopian soldiers in the African country's war-hit state of Tigray.
"We are horrified by the continued violence in Tigray, Ethiopia. This includes the extrajudicial killings of at least four men who were dragged off public buses and executed by soldiers, while our staff members were present, on Tuesday 23 March," MSF Head of Emergency Desk Karline Kieijer said in a statement posted to the group's Twitter.
The incident took place while three MSF staff members were on the road from Tigray's capital of Mekele to the city of Adigrat, traveling in a marked MSF vehicle. Along the journey, they encountered the aftermath of clashes between the Ethiopian military and an armed group, the organization added.
"Ethiopian soldiers at the scene stopped the MSF car and two public transport mini buses driving behind it. The soldiers then forced the passengers to leave the mini buses. The men were separated from the women, who were allowed to walk away. Shortly after that, the men were shot. The MSF team was allowed to leave the scene but saw the bodies of those killed on the side of the road," the statement read.
The MSF vehicle was stopped by the military again a short distance further. The soldiers pulled the driver out of the vehicle, beat him with the back of a gun and threatened to kill him. The driver was soon allowed to get back into the vehicle and the MSF team returned to Mekele.
Ethiopia's northernmost region of Tigray has been volatile since early November when the Federal government accused the Tigray People's Liberation Front party of attacking a local military base and launched a security operation.
