New York, 27 March 2022 (TDI): The UN Secretary-General welcomed the Ethiopian government’s declaration of an indefinite humanitarian ceasefire, as well as the commitment of forces in the Tigray area to comply with the immediate ceasefire, amid great concern for the five million people in the region who require critical supplies.
.@antonioguterres welcomes the declaration by the Ethiopian Government of an indefinite humanitarian truce, effective immediately and the commitment by Tigrayan authorities to a cessation of hostilities effective immediately: https://t.co/B500B21yJD
— UN Spokesperson (@UN_Spokesperson) March 25, 2022
“The conflict in Ethiopia has caused terrible suffering for millions of people across Afar, Amhara, Tigray, Benishangul Gumz, and Oromia,” said the UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, in a statement issued on behalf of Secretary-General António Guterres.
The Tigray Conflict in Ethiopia:
The Tigray Conflict is a conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region that began in November 2020. The Tigray Defense Units (TDF) fought the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), the Ethiopian Federal Police, regional police, and gendarmerie forces from neighboring Amhara and Afar provinces, with the Eritrean Defense Forces assisting (EDF).
A severe humanitarian crisis emerged as a result of the conflict. The violence spread into neighboring Amhara and Afar areas, killing thousands of civilians and displacing millions across northern Ethiopia and into neighboring Sudan.
Due to the ongoing fighting, the northern area did not receive any relief delivery by road since late December. On Thursday, the Ethiopian government proclaimed a ceasefire of hostilities to allow relief to reach afflicted citizens.
Hours later, the Tigrayan authorities made a statement pledging to do all in their power to ensure the humanitarian truce was successful.
The ceasefire agreement is seen as a positive development. According to Spokesperson Dujarric, “These positive developments must now translate into immediate improvements on the ground.”
The status of the aid activities:
The UN humanitarians report that less than 7,000 individuals got food assistance in the past week. The number is a tiny proportion of the 870,000 people UN partners are trying to help each week. Many relief efforts in Tigray have been limited or suspended.
The Humanitarian partners also warned that fewer than 10% of the needed number of seeds have arrived in Tigray ahead of the planting season, which begins in less than a month.
Some medical and nutrition supplies have been airlifted into Mekelle, Tigray’s capital, in recent months. In neighboring Afar, an estimated 200,000 men, women, and children displaced by the violence remain in places where the UN and partners cannot access due to persistent instability.
Since late February, more than 112,000 people in the accessible regions of Afar have received food aid, according to a UN report released last week.
In his statement, Mr. Guterres reiterated his call to restore public services in Tigray, including “banking, electricity, and telecommunications.” He urged all parties to proactively enable and facilitate the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian assistance across all affected areas.
The parties fighting in the North should “build on this encouraging development to take the necessary steps towards a long-term ceasefire”, the Secretary-General stressed.
