Sources from Ayder hospital in Mekelle said that ambulances were prevented from traveling to the area and subsequently the number of casualties could rise as ambulances were blocked at the checkpoint by military forces.
Eldana’s mother said while in tears, “A plane came suddenly then launched an attack around us, everything turned into smoke of dusk till we couldn’t tell between dead or alive.
Kibrom said, “There is no doubt that the number of casualties could be worse.” The doctor also said that they have undergone abdominal surgery on a 2 years old child, one of the 5 who arrived at the hospital on the same day of the attack.
Addis Standard also spoke to the family of a victim named Hadera Hayelom aged 13 who was killed in the attack while she went shopping at the market along with her mother Kiros Gebremedhin, 45.
Furthermore, Hadera’s family indicated that they have been informed that at least 35 people were killed including a priest named Gebrehiwot aged 52, Abreha Hagos 13, and a crop vendor Haile Selassie Alemayehu aged 45 was also killed in the incident.
Another eyewitness, Woldemichael, a vendor in the market, told Addis Standard that a massive strike hit the market around noon where so many people gather weekly for shopping and selling.
According to the spokesperson, the combatants were not inside the market but had gathered in the town to commemorate the anniversary of the bombing of another town in Tigray, Hawzen, in 1988.
The EU called the attack ‘extremely worrying’ and condemned the targeting of civilians.