Ethiopia: 157 trucks with food and humanitarian aid from UN arrive in Tigray after 6 weeks

Amidst the war-like situation in Ethiopia, the top United Nations official shared some good news. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that at least 157 trucks with food and humanitarian aid arrived in Tigray’s capital Mekelle, for the first time in more than six weeks. He also said more than a hundred vehicles carrying tonnes of food and clothes are on the way to the war-torn nation. Guterres stressed that the Tigray region has not received any needed aid supplies including food, medicines and fuel since the Ethiopian military began hitting Mekelle, a city in Ethiopia, with airstrikes on October 18 this year. As per Guterres, only 15% of trucks could reach the region between June and August this year. He pointed that the country is facing the worst ever famine.

According to UN reports, at least 3,50,000 people in Tigray have been facing famine, whereas the US Agency for International Development estimated that the number could rise to 9,00,000 at the end of this month. Meanwhile, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that none of the 157 trucks that reached Mekelle carried desperately needed fuel, which is essential to deliver humanitarian aid. However, Guterres called the resumption of aid deliveries to Tigray and the restarting of UN flights a good signal. It is worth mentioning that more than tens of thousands of people have been killed since November last year after a political fallout between the Tigray forces, who long dominated the national government, and the current administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed resulted in war.

'There is a window of opportunity to change the conflict region'

Earlier in November, the African Union's envoy for the Horn of Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo said that there is a window of opportunity to change the conflict region into a "peaceful region". The Special envoy for the Horn of Africa warned to catch the opportunity swiftly in order to reverse the crisis in northern Ethiopia. Notably, the condition of the rugged, landlocked country split by the Great Rift Valley worsened after the Ethiopian government declared a national state of emergency following a threat from rival Tigray forces to move on the capital. According to him, all the leaders admitted that the differences among them are "political" and would be solved "politically" through dialogues.

(With inputs from AP)

Image: AP