Condemnation builds over deadly government airstrike in Tigray.
International condemnation is growing over an airstrike that killed dozens of people in Ethiopia's war-torn northern Tigray region earlier this week, as Africa's second-most populous nation tallied ballots to decide its next leader.
At least 30 people died on Tuesday when a government airstrike hit a busy marketplace in the small town of Togoga, west of the regional capital Mekele, as fighting intensified between Tigray's ruling party, the TPLF, and forces aligned with Ethiopia's military, eyewitnesses and medics told CNN.
The airstrike marked one of the deadliest attacks in an eight-month war that has fueled famine, forced millions to flee and severely damaged the reputation of Ethiopia's Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Abiy touted the national and regional elections -- a vote he described as "witnessing the atmosphere of democracy," though millions of Ethiopians could not cast their ballots -- in an attempt to distract from international criticisms of the war in Tigray, particularly widespread reports of massacres, sexual violence and ethnic cleansing.
But Tuesday's attack has once again raised alarms over human rights violations in the country.
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