An investigation by medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) into the “execution” of three of its workers during a humanitarian mission in Ethiopia’s war-hit northern Tigray region has found evidence that the country’s army was responsible for the killings four years ago.

MSF’s report includes claims that Ethiopian troops were present at the scene of the killing of the three – a Spanish national and two Ethiopians.

“They were executed,” MSF Spain’s general director Raquel Ayora told the BBC. “They were facing their attackers [and] were shot at very close range… several times.”

The BBC has asked the Ethiopian government for a response to the allegation.

MSF said it was releasing the findings of its report into the incident as the government had failed to provide a “credible account” of the deaths despite 20 face-to-face meetings over the last four years.

Thirty-five-year-old Spaniard María Hernández Matas, along with 32-year-old Yohannes Halefom Reda and 31-year-old Tedros Gebremariam, were killed on 24 June 2021 while travelling in central Tigray to assess medical needs.

“They were very professional and passionate,” Ms Ayora told the BBC.

She added that the three were fully identifiable in MSF vests and their vehicle had the charity’s flag and logos on either side when they were shot.

“So, they knew that they were killing humanitarian aid workers,” she said.

The Tigray conflict broke out in 2020 following a massive fall-out between the regional and federal governments, with neighbouring Eritrea entering the war on the side of the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF).