Currents News Staff
The crisis in northern Ethiopia shows no signs of improving. On Nov. 2, the government declared a state of emergency after the People’s Liberation Front of Tigray announced the capture of two key cities. The situation on the ground worries the United Nations (U.N.)
“Our humanitarian colleagues there report that access to the northern part of the country remains challenging,” said U.N. Secretary-General Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
“As we’ve been mentioning repeatedly, people there need urgent humanitarian assistance. In Tigray, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate due to the restrictions imposed on the delivery of humanitarian supplies in the region via the only route, and that is through Afar; and that is the Semera-Abala-Mekelle road.”
The conflict between the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia and the central government worsened toward the end of 2020. The intensity of the violence has not diminished since then, in a country that was already burdened by famine.
It is very difficult for humanitarian aid providers and journalists to reach the area. It is estimated that there are more than five million displaced people, and those who remain trapped in the conflict zone have been abandoned to their fate.