The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) on Wednesday called for the opening of vital routes for the delivery of aid to Tigray, warning that this warring Ethiopian region already threatened by famine risked collapsing. run out of food supplies.
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A World Food Program (WFP) convoy was attacked on July 18 on the only road still allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Tigray, passing through Semera, capital of the neighboring Afar region, the United Nations announced. the day after. Nearly 150 trucks of food and other supplies are stranded in Semera
"pending security clearance"
, while 44 others left for Tigray on Tuesday, Ocha said in a statement.
This road has become vital for the delivery of humanitarian aid in Tigray, after the destruction in June of crucial bridges located on other axes. The last convoy reached the regional capital, Mekele, on July 12, and rations will only last until Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, adding that food for some 4,000 children malnourished would also soon be lacking. After months of growing tensions, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2019, sent the federal army to Tigray (North) in November 2020, to remove the regional authorities from the People's Liberation Front du Tigré (TPLF).
He declared victory in late November after the capture of Mekele, but fighting continued and by the end of June pro-TPLF rebels had regained most of the region, including the capital. The conflict has deepened the humanitarian crisis, pushing 400,000 people into famine in Tigray, according to the UN.
"The lack of material, fuel and communications equipment should bring humanitarian operations to a halt in two weeks,"
Ocha said, estimating the need at 600 trucks of aid per week. The agency urged warring parties to protect civilians and aid workers.