UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed Ethiopian authorities pledge to facilitate aid access, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Friday after Guterres' phone talks with nation's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2021) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed Ethiopian authorities pledge to facilitate aid access, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Friday after Guterres' phone talks with nation's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
"The Secretary-General welcomed the Prime Minister's assurances that the Government of Ethiopia will facilitate immediate access to Tigray for humanitarian organizations, as well as the Prime Minister's commitment that essential basic services, including power and communications, will resume swiftly," Dujarric said.
Guterres also acknowledged the government's pledge to use the ceasefire to facilitate urgent humanitarian assistance, including regular United Nations humanitarian flights into Tigray, he added.
UN chief also urged all parties to meet their obligations in protecting civilians and supporting international humanitarian law, Dujarric noted.
Clashes in the province of Tigray erupted in November after the Ethiopian government accused the local ruling party - the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) - of ambushing a regional army post to hijack weapons and arm anti-government militia. The Tigray region has been occupied by the Ethiopian military since then, resulting in fighting with the rebels.
An estimated 2 million of Tigray's 6 million people are reported to have fled their homes and an estimated 900,000 people likely face famine as a result of the occupation.
The TPLF represents a party that for dominated Ethiopia's government for three decades until Abiy, a member of the rival Oromo ethnic group, came to power in 2018.
