Ethiopian crisis: Rights group laids Addis Ababa's humanitarian truce
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Amnesty International has lauded the humanitarian truce announced by the Ethiopian Federal Government in the conflict-affected Tigray region describing it as a "positive step",
“The humanitarian truce is a positive step for millions of people trapped in the conflict in Tigray region, where meagre humanitarian aid supplies have left people starving – with insufficient food, water and other essentials," Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes region in a statement.
The Tigrayan authorities have said they will respect the truce.
The Government of Ethiopia announced on Thursday that it has with immediate effect declared an indefinite humanitarian truce in the civil war that has created a huge humanitarian crisis.
A statement issued by Government Communication Service (GCS) said the government had realised the need to take extraordinary measures to save lives and reduce human suffering in the war that started in the Tigray region in the north in November 2020 when the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked a government garrison in the regional capital, Mekelle.
Ms. Johnson urged all actors in the conflict to seize this opportunity to avoid worsening the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding in Tigray.
She said children and women are dangerously malnourished, and media reports suggest many are already dying of starvation.
“All parties to the conflict must immediately allow humanitarian aid workers uninterrupted access to all conflict-affected areas of northern Ethiopia, including Afar and Amhara regions."
Ms. Johnson said this includes opening the flow of aid through the Afar-Tigray land route, which has been closed following the renewed fighting in the border area, and resumption of critical services such as banking, power, and mobile and internet communication.
She said the truce also needs to include unfettered and non-discriminatory humanitarian aid, including medical care, to Western Tigray, which is currently under the control of Amhara and Eritrean forces.
Reports indicate that more than 5.2 million people need food aid in Tigray, but humanitarians were able to reach only 784,000 people since May 2021.
Amnesty International also said the Ethiopian government’s shutdown of phone and internet communication, and of banking services, as well as restrictions on cash delivery to Tigray and fuel shortages have crippled humanitarian operations.
-0- PANA MA 27March2022
