Araweelo News Network.
The United Nations expressed great frustration and concern, with the situation deteriorating day by day.
Addis Ababa(ANN)-The European Union (EU) has postponed nearly 90 million Euros ($ 110 million) in budget support for the Ethiopian government, but suspended it until the government meets certain conditions, including the delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout Tigray.
Meanwhile, the United Nations said on Wednesday that 18 trucks carrying 570 tons of food had finally reached Tigray, although there were still concerns over the passage of aid supplies that could not be fully delivered to the region.
Shipments of relief supplies in the region, has become a week after the UN’s contract Friday settlement appears to be focusing on opportunities to visit the area, the security forces of Ethiopian troops fired at a group of people from the United Nations assesses the situation, who tried to visit a camp housing Eritrean refugees, and the soldiers claimed that UN staff had ignored instructions through the checkpoints.
Tigray, a poor region with a population of six million people, faced severe food shortages before violent conflict and fighting broke out there in early November 2020, adding to this year’s outbreak of Corona virus and locusts. The worst drought in decades has hit East Africa.
Aid agencies have now largely ignored the situation in the region, fearing the fighting that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced thousands more, which they say could lead to disaster in the region.
In Alamata, Tigray region, government officials last Friday distributed 50 kilograms (110-pounds) of wheat – with the Ethiopian flag – to hundreds of residents queuing outside a warehouse. , and some umbrellas used to block the sun, were seen, although they were not the symbol of the Cities most affected by the fighting, and there were not many displaced people there, and it was different from the rest of the region.
The AFP news agency has recently found a special route in southern Tigray state, where some residents say they are increasingly desperate for life, begging neighbors and serving their children boiled water to feed them. Warm up in their stomachs.
“The problem can continue for a long time after the guns have been silenced, especially if the farmers, who have not been able to harvest their crops at the moment, are burnt and locusts are infested,” said Tesfaye, a regional farmer. .
“The potential loss of crops in Tigray, which would have started when the conflict began in November 2020, could have a major impact on food insecurity in the region,” said Saviano Abreu, spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. .
Meanwhile, a federal disaster committee official, Solomon Admasu, acknowledged that he and his colleagues are struggling to reach the war-torn areas of Tigray. “Resources exist, but there are instability. And areas of security crisis, ”Solomon said.
“Another thing that is frightening is that many officials in the Tigray region are afraid of running for office, which could further complicate the distribution of food when federal officials go deeper into the region,” he said. Assefa Mulugeta, an official at the Ministry of Peace who coordinates government relief operations, is in Alamata.
“The government needs help, and it is clear, because the demands for aid and the need are too much. Tensions over access to aid have been escalating in recent weeks between Prime Minister Abiy, who won the Nobel Peace Prize and aid officials and pro-Ethiopian countries around the world, who lamented his government’s policies.
The Abiy government has reiterated its commitment to providing assistance to “vulnerable communities,” saying it will take the lead and coordinate access to foreigners, in part due to persistent insecurity. . But the task did not go smoothly, and the United Nations expressed great frustration and concern, with the situation deteriorating day by day.