By Maggie Fick

NAIROBI, Reuters – An air and ground offensive of Ethiopian troops against rebellious forces in the northern Tigray area is intensifying. A spokesperson for Tigrayan forces stated Wednesday that the Tigrayan forces are claiming “staggering” casualties.

Getachew Reda from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front told Reuters phone that Tigrayan forces were being fought on multiple fronts by the Tigrayan army and their allies from Amhara, which is adjacent to Tigray.

An Ethiopian spokesperson did not respond immediately to my request for comment. Both the military and government did not acknowledge a new offensive. This was claimed by the TPLF after air strikes began just weeks after Prime Minister Abiy Mohamed was sworn-in for a fifth term.

Getachew stated that “it’s an ongoing battle and there are many casualties.” He could not provide details about the deaths or injuries. He stated that there were fighting in Amhara near Weldiya, and that the fighting was resuming in Afar in the Haro-Chifra area near Amhara’s border.

Reuters could not independently confirm the condition on the ground and the casualty figures because of the closure to journalists in the region. Also, many telephone connections have been cut.

Fears have been raised that the conflict could cause further instability in Horn of Africa’s nation of 109 million inhabitants and lead to Tigray falling deeper into poverty. Ethiopia’s neighbor, Eritrea (secretive, repressive country), has sent troops to Ethiopia across its border in support of the Ethiopian army during the November 2020 conflict.

Aid workers claiming to have witnessed the conflict told Reuters by witnesses that Eritrean fighters remained in Ethiopia.

Yemane Gebremeskel, the Eritrean Information Minister, did not respond immediately to inquiries for comment.

A witness said that Eritrean forces had been fighting Tigrayans at Berhale (a village in the Afar area), according to another humanitarian worker.

According to the U.S. State Department, Tuesday’s statement indicated that the Department was looking into economic sanctions as a way of penalizing those who are responsible for violent behavior.

Since the Tigray war broke out, thousands of civilians were killed and many millions have been displaced. Initial resistance by Tigrayan forces was met with defeat. However, they retook control of most of the region and moved in to the neighboring Amhara and Afar areas, where hundreds of thousands were displaced.

Amhara is claiming the Western Tigray. This fertile area of farmland has a strategic border with Sudan and was under Amhara’s control ever since the conflict began. The borders of Tigray are being surrounded now by hostile forces. Additionally, the United Nations alleges that the government has blocked food aid for hundreds of thousands of hungry people. This claim it refutes.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, chief of World Health Organization, stated Wednesday that Tigray had more than 90% needing food assistance and approximately 400,000 were in desperate circumstances based upon the most recent U.N. analyses.

He said, “We are witnessing acute malnutrition rates at levels comparable with those seen at the beginning of the 2011 Somalia Famine.”

In Somalia’s famine, 260,000 people perished.

Tedros said no medical supplies had gone into Tigray since July.

Due to lack of fuel or supplies, only a small fraction of Tigray’s health facilities are still operational. “People with chronic illnesses are dying because of a shortage in both food supplies and medicine,” he said at a Geneva press conference.

Billene Seyoum (prime minister) and Lia Tadesse (health minister), did not respond immediately to Reuters messages requesting comments on Tedros’ statement.