Two Ethiopian employees and one Spanish employee of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) were killed while working in Tigray on June 24, 2021, according to a report by Addis Standard. Maria Hernandez, a 35-year-old emergency coordinator, Yohannes Halefom Reda, a 31-year-old assistant coordinator, and Tedros Gebremariam Gebremichael, also 31 years old contact with their base while traveling and were found dead the following day.
According to the July 2, 2021 edition of Addis Standard, MSF stated that its employees were brutally murdered and called for an investigation into the killings. As a result, MSF suspended its activities in Central and Eastern Tigray.
In March 2022, The New York Times conducted an investigation and revealed that the aid workers were executed by Ethiopian troops under the orders of an Ethiopian general. However, the Ethiopian government has denied these accusations as reported by Addis Standard. The spokesperson for the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs argued that The New York Times relied on the accounts of captive soldiers who may have been coerced by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
