A nine-year-old girl has been injured after a hyena attacked her at the 70 Kare camp for internally displaced people in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray.
Kisanet Kahsay Reda, was bitten around 1:20 a.m. on Thursday inside the IDP camp on the outskirts of Mekelle. Camp residents said the hyena bit her before residents rushed to help. Kisanet was taken to hospital for treatment, but further details of her condition remain unknown.
Kisanet and her family were displaced from their home in western Tigray during the war on Tigray which began in late 2020. Her family initially fled to neighbouring Sudan before returning to Ethiopia and settling in Mekelle, hoping for safety and return to their home.
Thursday’s attack is the second in less than a month and part of what residents describe as a worrying new pattern of hyena attacks around the camp. On September 23, one-year-and-four-month-old Naod HaileSelassie was killed by a hyena at the same camp. Naod’s death shocked many across Tigray and drew attention to the increasingly unsafe conditions for people who have spent nearly five years living in the IDP camps. Residents had expressed their concerns about how hyenas have become a persistent threat in the camp. Families say the animals roam freely at night coming close to tents, heightening anxiety among families who already face the hardships of almost five years of displacement.
Following the incident on September 23 local civic society organizations, opposition parties and the regional administration issued a statement mourning the incident and demanding the immediate and full implementation of the Pretoria agreement. The Pretoria Agreement, signed nearly three years ago, was intended to facilitate the withdrawal of non-ENDF and foreign forces in Tigray and facilitate the safe return of displaced Tigrayans and refugees. However, its implementation has been marred by delays and failures, leaving the situation for IDPs dire.
The 70 Kare camp is one of many IDP camps across Tigray that have been home to tens of thousands of Tigrayans forcibly displaced during the conflict. Many agree that the situation at the 70 Kare IDP camp serves as a poignant reminder of the urgent need for comprehensive solutions to the crisis facing displaced Tigrayans.