UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th December, 2020) Senior UN officials in Ethiopia met with Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen this week to reiterate the call for enabling full humanitarian access, protecting civilians and restoring essential services in the Tigray region, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
"Our senior UN leadership in Ethiopia, including the resident coordinator Dr. Catherine Sozi, the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mr. Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the UN Office of the African Union Hannah Tetteh, and the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa Vera Songwe met yesterday with the Deputy Prime Minister... Demeke Mekonnen Hassen. In their discussion, they reiterated our call for full humanitarian access, protection of civilians and restoration of basic services," Dujarric said.
The hostilities in Ethiopia began in November after the Federal government accused the Tigray People's Liberation Front - the region's ruling party - of attacking a local military base and launched a security operation against it. The government later claimed to have finished the operation with the capture of the region's capital Mekelle.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said earlier in the day it had delivered non-food items to people displaced from the Tigray region, including in Shiraro, Shire, Hummer, Addi Haragay, Adi Goshu, Axum and Mekelle areas.
Additionally, Dujarric said that the World Food Program on Tuesday managed to send an 18 truck food aid convoy to Tigray. The assistance, enough to feed about 35,000 people for a month, will be distributed in the coming days.
"We are still looking for that unhindered and full humanitarian access that is so critical to reach the displaced population in Tigray," Dujarric added.
