The United Nations (UN) aid chief Martin Griffiths has urged Ethiopia to allow aid deliveries to reach Tigray, where a de facto blockade of nearly three months has restricted deliveries to 10 percent of what is needed, reported Reuters.
“This is man-made, this can be remedied by the act of government,” Mr. Griffiths told Reuters. “Get those trucks moving.”
Ethiopian Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had ordered a coordinated attack against the rebel forces in the Northern Tigray region after forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front attacked federal army camps in November last year.
Thousands of people have been killed due to the shelling in the Horn of Africa, while over 2 million have fled their homes. The war has led to a grave humanitarian crisis in Tigray, with 400,000 people already suffering from famine-like conditions, according to a UN report.
“We predicted that there were 400,000 people in famine-like conditions, at risk of famine, and the supposition was that if no aid got to them adequately, they would slip into famine,” Mr. Griffiths said. “I have to assume that something like that is happening.”
The UN aid chief said a lot of trucks go into Tigray and don’t come back, adding to the humanitarian issues. He said no fuel trucks had gone into Tigray since late July.
Earlier this month, the UN claimed that only 38 out of 466 trucks that entered Tigray since July 12 had returned. In Tigray, the UN says 5.2 million people, or 90 percent of the population, need help.
Griffiths said 100 trucks a day of aid needed to get to Tigray, but only 10% had gained access in the past three months. He urged the Ethiopian Government to do what they promised to do which is to facilitate access.
