Dr. Tedros, a native of Tigray, made this known at the end of a press conference with the United Nations Correspondents Association. According to the WHO chief, he had been on the verge of cancelling the meeting "because it was a difficult moment for me."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that his uncle was "murdered" by Eritrean troops in the Ethiopian region of Tigray, where a peace deal has been signed to end a bloody war.
Dr. Tedros, a native of Tigray, made this known at the end of a press conference with the United Nations Correspondents Association. According to the WHO chief, he had been on the verge of cancelling the meeting "because it was a difficult moment for me."
"I learned that my uncle had been murdered by the Eritrean army," he told reporters.
"He wasn't alone. In the village, when they killed him in his home, more than fifty people in the same village were killed. Arbitrarily," the 57-year-old head of WHO said. "I hope that the peace agreement will hold and that this madness will stop."
Tedros revealed that he had been on the verge of cancelling the event because he was “not in good shape” and it was “a difficult moment” for him.
Tedros is a former Ethiopian minister who comes from Tigray. He has previously been a vocal critic of Ethiopia’s role in the conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.
“I spoke to my mother and she was really devastated, because he was the youngest from their family and he was almost the same age as me, a young uncle.”
The Ethiopian government and regional forces from Tigray agreed in November to cease hostilities, in a breakthrough after two years of fighting.
However, troops from Eritrea, to the north, and forces from the neighbouring Ethiopian region of Amhara, to the south, who fought alongside Ethiopia’s military in Tigray were not party to the ceasefire signed in South Africa.
Tedros told Reuters news agency that last year his cousin was killed in an attack in Tigray when a church was blown up, but he did not give further details.
At a news conference on December 2, Tedros raised concerns about areas still under the control of Eritrean troops.
The fighting began in November 2020, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent the federal army to arrest leaders in the northern region who had been challenging his authority for months and whom he accused of attacking federal military bases.