64 killed, 180 injured in Ethiopia’s Tigray region

At least 64 people were killed and 180 injured in an airstrike, on a market in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.

Victims are brought to the Ayder referral hospital in Mekele as the army denies targeting civilians.

Rescue work at the crash site was delayed as soldiers initially blocked first aid personnel from entering the area.

Patients were being treated in a waiting area at a hospital in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region on Thursday, June 24 after the military said it was responsible for a deadly airstrike on a busy marketplace in the region.

Health workers said the attack killed at least 64 people, including children, but the military insisted only combatants were targeted.

The attack came after the counting of votes in the national elections in Ethiopia on Monday, June 21 was underway. However, there was no vote in Tigray, as fighting in the region has increased in recent days.

According to the European Union, denying first aid access to the region violates international law. The UN calls for an urgent investigation into the attack.