Tigray rebels deny role in deadly hospital attack

By Vivienne Nunis

Tigray rebels have denied responsibility for an attack on a health centre in the Ethiopian region of Afar, that killed at least 12 people.

The Afar regional administration blames Tigrayan forces for the incident, as fighting in Ethiopia’s nine-month conflict escalates in regions bordering Tigray.

A doctor in Ethiopia’s Afar region told the BBC that the 12 people had died from wounds sustained in a heavy artillery attack on the Galikoma health centre.

Almost 30 more men, women and children needed emergency treatment.

A spokesman for the Afar regional administration said many more civilians had died at the scene but he could not provide an official death toll.

He blamed Tigrayan forces - but a Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) spokesman said on Twitter that reports of the attack were "alarming".

He denied responsibility and said the group would co-operate with any investigation.

The health centre was used to shelter displaced people and to store food aid.

Last week UN aid chief Martin Griffiths visited Ethiopia and said 54,000 Afar residents had been displaced by recent fighting.

This article was originally published by BBC News. [Photo: AFP]