'The sound keeps coming back': children maimed in Ethiopia's Tigray clashes

ADDIS ABABA, October 17 - At Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital in Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia's northern Tigray state, ten-year-old double-amputee Iyerusalem lies on a bed, her legs mangled beyond repair after the recent clashes. "My brother and the horse died," she recounted to AFP, having witnessed the attack with her older sibling and equine companion.

The fighting began on September 23 between the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and federal forces; the Ethiopian army swiftly countered the assault and captured Mekelle without a fight this weekend, following the TPLF's retreat and abandonment of the city.

Many wounded civilians reside in far-flung villages cut off by the fighting and shelling. Iyerusalem, from Qarsole village in Alamata district, declared her amputated legs to be in agonizing pain and expressed her desire to return to school once she can walk again. In the same hospital, 12-year-old Hana, whose face was blasted apart, leaving her mother and brother dead, and her siblings, Betelhem (10) and Melet (6), who suffered a broken leg and a neck injury respectively, all found refuge.

Their mother perished during the explosion. Betelhem lamented, "First I heard a loud explosion, and the whole house shook. I was scared and did not even know what had happened. I could not open my eyes or my mouth."

The hospital's emergency coordinator, Birhanu Hailemariam, explained that the majority of patients were evacuated from southern Tigray. In recent days, 34 people wounded by "heavy artillery, drones, gunfire, and explosives" have arrived at the hospital, of whom 23 were children. One casualty was recorded. The staff, however, lacked essential equipment and medicine, including anaesthesia, Hailemariam lamented.

Despite the situation not being as dire as the 2020-22 Tigray war, which reportedly claimed 600,000 lives according to the African Union, the hospital radiated an atmosphere of fear. Both the rebels and the government inflicted harm, a sentiment echoed by another doctor, who hesitated to blame either party due to fear of reprisals.

Hailemariam's father, Hiluf, implored for aid, hoping for peace and an end to the violence. "I do not want to fight with anyone," he expressed, "Let there be peace for us."