How bombing in Tigray is hampering humanitarian assistance

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© WFP/Claire Nevill Food is unloaded from a truck at a WFP distribution site in Zelazle in the north of Tigray Oct 2021

NAIROBI, Kenya - The most vulnerable people in the Tigray region have borne the brunt of the ongoing war, the Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF] says while condemning continuous bombing in the region by Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] and their Eritrean counterparts.

Right now, humanitarian accessibility has been completely interfered with, making it difficult for trucks carrying food to the region to deliver. Most bombing, it has emerged, targets humanitarian teams and innocent civilians within the Northern part of Ethiopia.

Getachew Reda, the spokesperson of TPLF lamented that most people could succumb to hunger should the government of Ethiopia and Eritrea continue to tamper with Non-Governmental Organizations [NGOs] which are operating in the Horn of Africa nation.

"This is happening under the watch of international NGOs whose activities are being hampered by the systematic targeting of civilian infrastructure including of humanitarian aid trucks by the forces of the Twin Tyrants in the Horn of Africa," he said in reference to PM Abiy Ahmed and Isaias Afwerki.

The spokesperson was particularly agitated with Tuesday's bombing at Adi Daero in the Tigray region by the Ethiopian Air Force with assistance from Eritrea, which targeted internally displaced persons who have been depending on humanitarian aid for survival for the last couple of months.

Although the government of Ethiopia did not immediately confirm targeting Western Tigray, photos and videos emerged of the completely destroyed IDP camp, where dozens of innocent children and elderly people died, in what could further put Addis Ababa at loggerheads with international partners.

"Dozens of children and elderly killed and many more wounded. What makes this particularly outrageous is the victims had been in IDP shelters in Adiyabo before they were once again forced to leave their make-shift camps as a result of the latest round of genocidal campaign by Isaias Afeworki Abiy Ahmed’s forces against the people of Tigray," he claimed.

"We are not even sure if the international community would even mention this tragedy as a footnote. Tragic, yes, but Tigray Will Prevail, " added the spokesperson, who recently confirmed that TPLF had withdrawn from most parts of the Amhara region to defend her territory in the north.

Renewed fighting was activated in August after the Ethiopian army started bombarding Mekelle, leading to the current quagmire. There is hope that the two parties will embrace genuine dialogue with the guidance of the African Union, but until now, they are yet to have structured talks.

GAROWE ONLINE

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