Rebels in the Ethiopian state of Tigray have captured the city of Lalibela. The rock churches in that city are on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and are considered an important holy place for Christians.
There would have been no shooting by the rebels, but residents of Lalibela have fled, the deputy mayor tells BBC. He is concerned about the eleven churches in the city. They were built in the 12th and 13th centuries and classified as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1987. The US State Department called on the rebels to respect the heritage.
Tigray has been unsettled since November , when war broke out between the Ethiopian government and the rebels, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). “At the end of June there was a major turning point in this war,” says Africa correspondent Elles van Gelder. “The Tigres Defense Forces, the militias of the TPLF, then took the regional capital of Tigray, Mekelle. They have since advanced, even beyond Tigray’s borders, now there is fighting, in the neighboring regions of Amhara, where Lalibela is located, and Afar With that, the conflict is escalating.”
A United Nations delegation visited Ethiopia this week and sounded the alarm about the expansion of the conflict. “All sides are mobilizing new troops and there seems to be no prospect of a solution,” says Van Gelder.
Aid workers stopped
The conflict has led to a major humanitarian crisis. 5.2 million people need help and there is widespread famine. Rescuers barely enter the area.
For a long time, a World Food Program (WFP) aid convoy was blocked because it was not allowed through, but the day before yesterday, 175 trucks with relief goods reached the area. A drop in the ocean, says the WFP.
It would take 100 trucks a day to provide enough help. Doctors Without Borders teams came from three cities in Tigray last month left, after the murder of three aid workers.
Tigray was not accessible to journalists for a long time, but correspondent Elles van Gelder was able to make a report in the region two months ago:
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