The number of people displaced from Tonsa kebele and its surroundings in Megale woreda of the Afar region following an attack attributed to forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front has reached 18,000, and around 11,000 have not yet received any form of humanitarian assistance, Ethiopia Insider reported, citing local authorities. They also report that Tigray forces who crossed into Afar and took control of several villages have not withdrawn.

In a statement released two weeks ago, Afar authorities said that TPLF fighters ‘entered Afar territory by force and controlled six villages, and ‘bombed civilians with mortars.’ TPLF, in a statement issued a day later, said the accusation was groundless.

However, residents and local officials told Ethiopia Insider that Tigray forces had attacked villages and civilians and had yet to withdraw or return to their region. An official of Tonsa kebele told the website that Tigray forces are still in control of the villages of Milki, Warea, Mila, Kereftu, Kaosobera, and Keremuaga, which they had controlled two weeks ago.

One of the people displaced from Warea, now sheltering under a tree at a school in Arori Kebele, said he had been in contact with the Afar regional militia and special forces to follow developments. According to the information he has received so far, Tigray forces remain in his village. Another resident, who fled the same area with her eight children, said she had approached her home on Sunday and found that it was still under the control of Tigray forces. “We can’t go home as long as the armed groups remain in control,” she told Ethiopia Insider, adding that she and her children had decided to return to the place where displaced people are being sheltered.

The chairman of Tonsa Kebele said that heavy weapons are occasionally being fired by Tigray forces. Abdu Mohammed, head of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Bureau of Megale Woreda, added that after the Tigray forces took control, Tonsa Kebele was “split in two.” “Half of Tonsa Kebele is controlled by Tigray forces, while the other half remains under the Afar regional government,” he was quoted as saying. Two weeks ago, Abdu Mohammed said that more than 2,000 people had been displaced after the area was taken over by TPLF forces. He now says the number of displaced people has reached 18,000. The official added that residents displaced from Tonsa and Faro have taken shelter in a place called Arora, while those displaced from Adu Kebele are staying under trees, inside school buildings in an area known as Elakelo. Abdu told Ethiopia Insider that the number of displaced people has increased as residents who were stranded in areas controlled by Tigray forces have begun arriving after fleeing those locations.