More than nine million people now need food aid in northern Ethiopia, which has been in the grip of war for more than a year, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said on Friday.
The recent developments in the conflict in Ethiopia, where the Tigrayan rebels threaten to march on the capital Addis Ababa, worry the international community, which is trying to obtain a ceasefire. Several states have called on their nationals to leave the country, the last Friday being Canada, which asked them to leave “immediately”.
Marked by atrocities and famine, the conflict has left several thousand dead and more than two million displaced. WFP sounded the alarm on Friday: the humanitarian situation has deteriorated rapidly in recent months in Tigray, but also in the Amhara and Afar regions, where the conflict has spread.
According to a statement from the organization, 9.4 million people suffer from hunger there “as a direct result of the ongoing conflict”, up from around 7 million in September.
“The Amhara region [où les combats se déroulent] has seen the biggest increase in numbers, with 3.7 million people now in urgent need of food assistance, ”says WFP.
“Of all the people in northern Ethiopia who need help, over 80% [7,8 millions] are beyond the front line ”
Malnutrition has also increased across the three regions and affects, according to WFP data, between 16 and 28% of children. In Amhara and Tigray, 50% of pregnant and lactating women are malnourished.
On Friday, rebels from the Tigray Liberation Front (TPLF) and a hospital official reported two airstrikes in Mekele, the capital of Tigray, the TPLF referring to a “drone” for the first time.
Sources told AFP that the first strike landed near the house of a rebel commander and a hill housing an anti-aircraft machine gun. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokeswoman Billene Seyoum said she had “no information” about possible drone strikes in Mekele.
“Bury the enemy”
The Prime Minister for his part promised Friday “to bury the enemy” in a message sent according to state media from the conflict front.
On Friday, in an interview broadcast by the state channel Oromia Broadcasting Corporation, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner said he was certain of victory against the Tigray Liberation Front (TPLF).
“Until we bury the enemy […], until Ethiopia’s independence is confirmed, we will not back down. What we want is to see Ethiopia standing while we die, ”said Abiy Ahmed.