MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2021) The EU leadership has called on the Ethiopian and Eritrean armed forces to stop impeding humanitarian access to parts of Ethiopia's restive border region of Tigray that has been suffering from a severe humanitarian crisis,
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic recalled in a joint statement on Friday that the EU had repeatedly called for full humanitarian access to all areas as well as for the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces.
"While the Ethiopian authorities have committed to both, the reality on the ground shows that blockades by military forces are severely impeding the ability for assistance to reach rural areas, where the humanitarian crisis is at the worst level ... The use of humanitarian aid as a weapon of war is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and is putting at risk the lives of millions of people. Immediate and full-scale assistance should be provided, in order to avoid starvation. Those responsible for deliberately preventing timely access will be held to account," the statement said.
The EU officials noted that at least 5.2 million people out of 5.7 million in Tigray are in need of emergency food assistance.
The Tigray Region in the north of Ethiopia has been experiencing severe food insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a locust outbreak, and the ongoing conflict between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian government.
The armed conflict in the region started last November after the TPLF allegedly attacked and stole weapons from an Ethiopian military base in order to arm an anti-government militia in the region. The conflict has since caused much displacement and food insecurity in Tigray, while also making it more difficult for international organizations to provide aid to affected people.
In late 2020, TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael said that Eritrea, which was technically at war with Ethiopia until 2018, had sent troops across the border in support of Ethiopian government forces.
