Ethiopia: in Tigray, more than 400,000 people in a situation of famine according to the UN
In Tigray, the situation has "worsened considerably," UN Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Ramesh Rajasingham told the UN Security Council's first public meeting on Tigray on Friday. since the outbreak of the conflict in November.
(illustrative image).
REUTERS - BAZ RATNER
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More than 400,000 people have "
crossed the threshold of famine
" in Tigray, a region in northern Ethiopia at war for eight months, a senior UN official warned on Friday.
The organization also urging the rebels to apply the ceasefire decreed by Ethiopia.
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The situation in Tigray has "
dramatically worsened,
" UN Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Ramesh Rajasingham said on Friday (July 2) during the UN Security Council's first public meeting on the Tigray since the outbreak of the conflict in November.
The conflict in Tigray took a major turn on Monday, June 28 with the capture of the regional capital Mekele by forces loyal to the dissident regional authorities, from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
Two crucial bridges for the delivery of aid to Tigray were also destroyed this week by Ethiopian forces, according to NGOs and the World Food Program (WFP).
►
To read: Tigray: a vital bridge for supplies destroyed, fears for humanitarian aid
Enabling the delivery of food aid as quickly as possible
"
It is estimated that more than 400,000 people have crossed the threshold of famine and that an additional 1.8 million people are on the brink of famine,
" warned Ramesh Rajasingham. “
Some suggest the numbers are even higher and 33,000 children are severely malnourished
,” he added. "
The lives of many of these people depend on our ability to reach them with food, medicine
." “
We have to reach them now. Not next week. Now,
”he said.
It took almost eight months for the Security Council to agree to formally discuss Tigray.
Russia and China but also Kenya, Niger and Tunisia were opposed, believing that the conflict was an internal affair in Ethiopia, reports our correspondent in New York,
Carrie Nooten
.
The American ambassador said it was an opportunity to show that African lives matter as much as other lives in the world, before asking Eritrean troops to return home.
Government accused of suffocating the Tigrayan people
The Ethiopian government on Friday dismissed accusations saying it planned to block humanitarian aid to Tigray, which it lost control of this week.
“
The insinuation that we plan to suffocate the Tigrayan people by denying humanitarian access and using hunger as a weapon of war is unacceptable,
” Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen told diplomats in a meeting. hotel in the capital Addis Ababa.
►
To read: Ethiopia: how the rebels regained the advantage in Tigray
The UN also urges the rebel forces, dubbed the Tigray Defense Forces, "
to immediately and completely endorse the ceasefire
" decreed by the Ethiopian government in the region, said the UN deputy secretary general for them. Political Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo.
"
A ceasefire observed by all parties would not only facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, but would also be a starting point for the political efforts necessary to chart a way out of the crisis,
" she said. added.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner, sent the army to Tigray in early November 2020 to capture the leaders of the TPLF, whom he accused of orchestrating attacks on federal military bases.
5.2 million people in need of emergency food assistance
Abiy Ahmed proclaimed victory after
the capture of Mekele
on November 28, but fighting never stopped between pro-TPLF forces and the Ethiopian army, backed up by troops from neighboring Amhara regional authorities and the Army of
Eritrea
.
The war has plunged the region into a dire humanitarian situation. According to the WFP, 5.2 million people, or 91% of the population of Tigray, are in need of emergency food assistance. The UN agency said on Friday it had resumed aid operations after a two-day hiatus, hoping to reach 30,000 people "
by the weekend
". But she lamented that two major bridges leading to Tigray had been destroyed, saying that "
lives will be lost if the supply routes to Tigray are not fully opened and if parties to the conflict continue to disrupt or disrupt. endangering the free flow
of aid.
Several countries, including the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom, behind the Security Council meeting that Africans did not want also argued that humanitarian access should be unimpeded.
In his discussions with diplomats, Demeke Mekonnen reiterated that the ceasefire had been decreed to allow the distribution of humanitarian aid and the work of crops.
But with electricity and telecommunications cut, flights suspended and most of the region's roads now impassable, UN officials and diplomats fear the situation will worsen.
The government ready to dialogue to resolve the crisis?
"
A ceasefire does not mean cutting off electricity in a region or destroying critical infrastructure
," EU foreign minister Josep Borrell said on Twitter on Friday.
"
A credible ceasefire means doing everything possible to ensure that aid reaches the millions of children, women and men who urgently need it
."
A cease fire doesn't mean cutting a region off power or destroying critical infrastructure.
A credible cease fire means doing everything possible so that aid reaches the millions of children, women and men who urgently need it.
Saving lives should be a priority for all.
#Tigray
- Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) July 2, 2021
Facing diplomats, Demeke Mekonnen also said that after the national elections on June 21, which should give Abiy Ahmed a new mandate, the government was preparing for an "
inclusive dialogue to resolve the Tigray crisis
".
"
This process should involve legal opposition parties, grassroots members of the TPLF who show a willingness to choose a peaceful path, the business community, civil society organizations, elders and other prominent figures.
" , did he declare.
But Ethiopian leaders said, however, that discussions with TPLF leaders were excluded.
Demeke Mekonnen, as well as the spokesperson of the government crisis cell for Tigray, Redwan Hussein, affirmed that Addis Ababa wanted to see
the leaders of the TPLF
sanctioned for their “
responsibilities
”.
But some members of the TPLF are "
innocent
" and could be included in future discussions, said the Ethiopian deputy prime minister, according to these diplomats.
(With
AFP
)
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In Ethiopia, the humanitarian situation is of great concern in Tigray