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Scores of bodies seen floating in river between Sudan, Ethiopia

August 3, 2021 at 10:29 am

People stand next to the Tekeze river, the Ethiopian border with Eritrea, in the city of Humera, Ethiopia, on 10 July 2021. [EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP via Getty Images]

Residents of Sudanese province of Kassala have reported seeing dozens of bodies floating in a river between Sudan and Ethiopia, news agencies reported yesterday.

The bodies were found in the Setit River, known in Ethiopia as the Tekeze, which is the current de facto borderline between territory controlled by Tigrayan forces and Amhara forces allied with Ethiopia’s federal government.

Dr Tewodros Tefera, a surgeon who escaped from the Ethiopian border town of Humera, told Reuters he buried ten bodies over the past six days in Sudan and was told by local fishermen and refugees another 28 had been recovered.

“They were shot in their chest, abdomen, legs… and also had their hands tied,” he said, adding that he had been able to identify three bodies as belonging to Tigrayans from Humera, with the help of refugees. Many Tigrayans from Humera fled to Sudan when the fighting began.

One of the eyewitnesses said: “We found nine…They tied them up with a rope and they were swollen, but there’s no marks of them being hit or shot.”

The Ethiopian government said the reports were “fake”, blaming Tigrayan “propagandists” who seek to defame authorities.

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