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UN organizations are sounding the alarm: Tigray is threatened with famine

2021-07-30T10:54:48.051Z


Aid convoys can no longer penetrate the region, and all major roads are closed. Groceries are scarce. The humanitarian situation in Tigray is worsening dramatically.


Aid convoys can no longer penetrate the region, and all major roads are closed.

Groceries are scarce.

The humanitarian situation in Tigray is worsening dramatically.

Johannesburg - According to the UN, the humanitarian situation in the Ethiopian conflict region of Tigray is rapidly deteriorating.

The UN agency for the coordination of humanitarian aid (Ocha) reported on Friday about persistent problems for humanitarian convoys to get into the region and to transport urgently needed aid for about 5.2 million affected people. The last convoy, consisting of 50 trucks, reached the city of Mekelle on July 12th. According to the agency, that is far too little: "In order to cover the current demand, 500 to 600 truckloads are necessary every week".

The government of the north-east African country began a military offensive in November against the People's Liberation Front of Tigray (TPLF), which had been in power in the region of the same name until then. The background to this were years of tensions between the TPLF and the central government. The TPLF dominated Ethiopia for more than 25 years until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 and ousted the TPLF. Many people in Tigray feel that they are not represented by the central government and are demanding more autonomy. In the multi-ethnic state of Ethiopia with its around 112 million inhabitants, there are a number of ethnic tensions that have risen under Abiy. The current conflict has already displaced hundreds of thousands of people and wreaked havoc.

All important access roads from the Amhara region are closed and important bridges are impassable, according to the UN agency.

Food supplies are also scarce in the refugee camps in Tigray, where people from neighboring Eritrea live.

Aid workers in Tigray and other parts of Ethiopia speak of a catastrophic situation and see themselves exposed to attacks.

They are accused of favoring only one side in the conflict.

"This only exacerbates the challenges for humanitarian actions and slows down life-saving aid," warned the UN agency.

Famine is the worst form of hunger crisis in which many people die as a result of malnutrition.

In Africa, only the drought-related situation in southern Madagascar is considered to be similarly dire.

dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-07-30

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