Ethiopia: Alamata Fighting Leaves Trail of Civilian Casualties - Adigrat Eparch Appeals for Help

What the report says

At least 52 civilians were reported killed in and around Alamata, in southern Tigray, during several days of fighting in late September, according to reporting distributed by AllAfrica from Addis Standard. The violence came as renewed clashes in northern Ethiopia displaced residents, strained hospitals and made it harder for aid to reach affected areas.

The article says witnesses and hospital sources described shelling and heavy artillery fire as people were preparing for market day. A resident who fled to North Wollo in neighboring Amhara Region said the town was hit suddenly and that many people ran for safety. The reported casualties included children, mothers and cattle herders, and one marketplace strike was said to have killed 12 people.

The fighting is part of a broader deterioration in Tigray’s security situation, amid accusations of violations of the November 2022 Pretoria Agreement that ended the previous war in the region. The report says communications disruptions, bank closures and movement restrictions have complicated independent verification and limited access to communities.

The Eparch of Adigrat, Tesfaselassie Medhin, appealed for urgent humanitarian access and dialogue, saying the Church and local communities were cut off from outside contact. He also warned that schools, seminaries and basic supplies were under increasing pressure. Separately, Pope Leo XIV called for a return to dialogue and urged humanitarian support, underscoring wider concern that the latest escalation could weaken the peace process and deepen the crisis in northern Ethiopia.