Mereja Forum

[sarcasm]

Since the start of the war, the world has witnessed horrendous atrocities on the people of Tigray. Even though the severity of the war on the people of Tigray is no longer a secret, the true extent of the damage is still not known. In the last six months, there have been plenty of announcements of glorious victories, encirclement, and the capture of enemies. What is not publicized is the human cost of the war. There have, to date, been no official reports detailing the human or financial cost of the war to Ethiopia.

In early December 2020, there was an unconfirmed report of “tens of thousands of deaths among Ethiopian forces and those from neighboring Eritrea.” Compiling reports of military battles by DW from March 30-April 12, 2021, there was a report of 12,535 casualties, of which 5795 were killed and the rest were wounded. In his interview in late April 2021, Getachew Reda estimated the casualties were quite significant.

In this obscure context, with no official reporting, the following leaked letter (along with two attachments) from the Amhara National Regional State Health Bureau addressed to the Ministry of Health of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, however, offers the first documented evidence of the human cost. The letter dated May 10, 2021, shows the cost of items and expenses incurred to care for the wounded military personnel while on duty.



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