One of the hardest hit woredas in the Afar region, comprised of 70% Tigrayans. Tigrayans and Afaris lived side by side as neighbours prior to the conflict. When the conflict broke out, they turned on each other, marking their houses as either Afar or Tigray, enabling the identification of ethnic types when TDF came into Abala and also when government forces detained 8000 Tigrayans from the region, supposedly for their own safety.
The town as it stands at present is like a ghost town. Key facilities including the local hospital were completely destroyed by TDF. As we drove towards the hospital, a boy rode on the base of an IV stand like it was a scooter. We were greeted with a sight of horror even though it has been a few weeks since the conflict ceased and some clean up efforts has begun. We trotted through shards of broken glass and vials of medicine. Vital and expensive medical equipment were wrecked, medicine storage ransacked and emptied. Leftover medicine and apparatus were crushed and left to taunt the community. Wires were slashed in power boxes, leaving the entire hospital without electricity. In parts of the hospital, there were evidence of rocket attacks, gun fights, piercing doors, walls, ceilings and smashing windows. In one of the main hallways laid a bloody uniform belonging to that of an Afari special force soldier. We followed a trail of blood into the pathology lab where a hospital administrative officer lost his life. It appears he was dragged from one area to the lab and subsequently murdered.
We arrived at the maternity unit. An upturned humidity crib marked as an appraisal for what’s to come. The entire maternity and paediatrics unit was totally defaced and demolished. Overturned beds and baby cots visible from almost every room. As we progressed through the ward, a bright painting stated “A Mother shall not lose her life while giving a life” served as a harsh contrast for what has become of an essential and operative facility prior to the conflict.
When we thought things couldn’t get any worse, we spotted a rather detailed illustration of an AK47, a dotted line leading to the middle of a man’s temple and some writing on the wall. It states that “Junta will win”. The man in the picture, according to the rebellion, is representative of “Afar terrorists”. To the right of wall was a picture of an AK47 and it states that the “AK47 belongs to Tigrayans” with clear dotted lines leading to the “Afar terrorist”. Merciless and unequivocal.