Unexploded Ordnance Blast Kills Eight, Including Five Children, in Central Tigray

An explosion of unexploded ordnance killed eight people, five of them children, in Yechila town in the Abergele Yechila district of central Tigray, according to medical officials and local residents.

The blast occurred in a residential quarter of the town while scrap metal salvaged from an abandoned weapons depot was being carried by pack animal to local scrap dealers. Live munitions mixed in with the metal detonated, killing bystanders and damaging nearby houses.

Casualties and Medical Response

Erdey Assefa, head of Yechila Hospital, said 18 casualties were brought to the hospital, many with traumatic amputations and extensive shrapnel wounds.

“From the 18 victims brought to our attention, three died immediately,” Erdey told BBC Amharic.

The other five victims later died from their injuries. Severely wounded patients were referred to Abiy Addi Hospital and to Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital in Mekelle. Some died on the way or shortly after arriving.

Five of those killed were children aged between two and 12. They were reportedly playing outside their homes at the time of the blast.

Scrap Metal From an Abandoned Depot

Gebreslassie Meressa, a priest who lives in the area, said his six-year-old daughter was killed in the explosion and four other members of his family were critically injured.

“They loaded unexploded ordnance along with scrap metal onto a donkey,” Gebreslassie told BBC Amharic. “The donkey collapsed in front of our house, causing a massive explosion.”

The ordnance came from a munitions depot in nearby Ariqua that was established during the 1998–2000 Ethiopia–Eritrea war. The facility was reportedly left unguarded after military redeployments and administrative changes in the area.

Residents facing drought and economic hardship had been entering the depot to collect scrap metal despite warnings from community elders and religious leaders. The metal reportedly sells for about 50 birr per kilogram.

Parts of the Ariqua facility were damaged by fires and explosions earlier this month.

Health workers and local administrators are calling on the authorities to carry out urgent clearance operations to locate and remove remaining explosives in the area.

Reporting draws on interviews published by BBC Amharic.

Picture: BBC – Amharic