Tigray region warns of looming famine

The administration points in particular to the weather conditions, the lack of humanitarian aid and the lingering effects of the war which pitted the administration and the Tigrayan rebels for two years.

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An Ethiopian flag.  (PHILIPPE TURPIN / MAXPPP)

A “imminent humanitarian catastrophe”. More than 91% of the population of Tigray is “exposed to the risk of starvation and death”warned the president of the interim administration of the Ethiopian region in a document shared on X (formerly Twitter), Friday December 29.

For the Ethiopian official, Getachew Reda, the risk of imminent famine is notably due to a drought followed by destructive rains which are hitting the region, as well as to the persistent effects of the war which pitted the federal government against this region for two years. north of the country. “Since the signing of the Pretoria agreement, thousands of Tigrayans have already died from lack of food”assured the official, in reference to the peace agreement of November 2022 which ended the war between the Tigrayan rebels and Addis Ababa.

Food aid suspended

Getachew Reda also points to the suspension of aid from the United States and the UN World Food Program (WFP), which stopped all food aid to Ethiopia in June, citing embezzlement. “Although aid has been restored on a limited basis, what is reaching the needy is only a fraction of what would be needed to meet current needs”declared the president of the interim administration.

“The Ethiopian government and the international community (…) must now do their part to confront the impending humanitarian catastrophe.”, launched Getachew Reda. The situation on the ground in northern Ethiopia cannot be independently verified, as media access to Tigray is restricted by the federal government.


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