MSF says 3 of its workers were ‘intentionally’ killed in Ethiopia’s Tigray

Doctors Without Borders says three of its staff were “intentionally” killed in 2021 during the fierce fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.

The organization, known by its French initials MSF, on Tuesday published the findings of its internal review into the killings of Maria Hernandez, a Spanish national, and Ethiopians Yohannes Halefom Reda and Tedros Gebremariam Gebremichael.

The northern region of Tigray erupted in a brutal civil war against the federal government from 2020 and 2022 that killed some 600,000 people.

The conflict prompted a humanitarian disaster, leaving a million displaced, and a fragile peace deal has caused simmering resentment.

MSF accused the Ethiopian government of failing to “fulfil its moral obligations” to conclude investigations. “The review confirmed that the attack was an intentional and targeted killing of three clearly identified aid workers,” says its statement.

Hernandez was one of MSF's emergency coordinators in Tigray, while Reda and Gebremichael were a coordination assistant and driver for the NGO. All three employees of MSF-Spain were shot dead on June 24, 2021, in southern Tigray.

The NGO said they and their vehicles were all clearly identified. According to the medical charity, a convoy of Ethiopian soldiers was present at the time of the attack.