Three MSF employees killed in Ethiopia's Tigray, aid agency says

Threeemployeesworking for the Spanish branch of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) werekilledby unknown assailants inEthiopia'sTigrayregion, the medical charity saidon Friday.

MSF-Spain lost contact with a vehicle carrying the team on Thursday afternoon, it saidin a statement. "This morning the vehicle was found empty and a few metres away, their lifeless bodies."

"We condemn this attack on our colleagues in the strongest possible terms and will be relentless in understanding what happened," the statement said.

It identified the victims as emergency coordinator Maria Hernandez, 35, from Madrid, assistant coordinator Yohannes Halefom Reda, 31, from Ethiopia, and their Ethiopian driver Tedros Gebremariam Gebremichael, also 31.

They are among at least 12aidworkers reportedkilledsince fighting broke out in November betweenEthiopia'smilitary and forces loyal to the region's former ruling party, theTigrayPeople's Liberation Front (TPLF). The conflict haskilledthousands of people and displaced more than 2 million.

Ethiopia'sforeign ministry sent condolences via Twitter but saidit had been urgingaidagencies to secure military escorts in the area. The ministry saidTPLF forces were active in the town of Abiy Addi where the attack occurred.MSFdid not confirm the location.

A TPLF spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Spain's foreign ministry saidit was engaging with theaidagencyand the Ethiopian government on the attack.

"A heartfelt hug to the family and colleagues of Maria ... who has been murdered in Ethiopia where she was helping the population," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on Twitter, also sending condolences to the families of Yohannes and Tedros.

The U.S. State Department called for an independent investigation of the killings and saidthe Ethiopian government "ultimately bears full responsibility for ensuring the safety of humanitarian workers."