Stéphane Dujarric: “Ethiopia is facing a very difficult humanitarian situation. tell journalists at the United Nations Headquarters in New York during a regular press conference.
More than 24 million people have received humanitarian assistance this year, including food aid for more than 20 million, agricultural assistance as well as water, sanitation and hygiene services for more than three million each.
At the same time, he said, “parts of the country face the risk of flooding in the coming weeks and more than 1.7 million people could be affected, including more than 400,000 men, women and children with risk of being displaced.”
Fighting in Tigray regon
At the same time, Secretary General António Guterres said he was “deeply shocked and saddened by the news of the resumption of hostilities in Ethiopia”.
The head of the United Nations has made a strong call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the resumption of peace talks between the Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
“The Ethiopians, the Tigrayans, the Amharas, the Oromos, the Afars, have suffered too much already,” lamented Mr. Guterres.
The Secretary-General also requires the guarantee of full humanitarian access to those in need and the re-establishment of public services.
War broke out in Tigray in November 2020 and spilled over into neighboring countries Afar and Amhara a year ago.
Necessary frontline defense
In a positive development, the Spokesperson said that a second shipment of 840 tons of fertilizer to support farmers in the growing season had arrived in Tigray.
However, he continued, the UN is “deeply concerned for civilians in frontline areas and urges all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure their protection.” .
The UN official cited an example of the impact caused by the renewed fighting, pointing to an incident that morning, when the Tigray Force forcibly joined the World Food Program (WFP) warehouse in Mekelle, take 12 fuel tankers filled with 570,000 liters of fuel.
Fuel stockpiles are used for humanitarian purposes only to distribute food, fertilizer and other emergency relief items.
“This fuel loss will affect humanitarian operations supporting communities in Northern Ethiopia,” Mr. Dujarric said.
“We condemn any looting or seizure of humanitarian goods or humanitarian facilities, and we urge all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and to respect employees. , activities, property and humanitarian goods”.
