By Spy Uganda Correspondent
Responding to news that the Ethiopian government has agreed to allow humanitarian aid workers expanded access to the Tigray region, where nearly three million people need assistance after conflict broke out in November, Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for East Africa, the Horn and Great Lakes said;
“For the past three months, the full scale of human suffering in Tigray has been unknown, compounded by restricted access to the region, and internet and telephone blackouts.
“The Ethiopian authorities must live up to their promise to allow humanitarian access to the region, where civilians continue to bear the brunt of the fighting. The authorities must do everything in their power to facilitate access for humanitarian and human rights workers to civilians in Tigray whose lives have been torn apart by the fighting.
“With so much at stake, Ethiopian authorities must not renege on this agreement. We reiterate our call on all parties to the conflict to comply with their obligation under international humanitarian law to facilitate rapid, unimpeded access for impartial humanitarian relief.”
Background
The humanitarian crisis in Tigray, Ethiopia, has been exacerbated by fighting between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray regional government ruling party, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which began in November 2020. Amnesty International has been demanding full humanitarian access into the region, where the conflict continues.
