Ethiopia: WFP tracks headed to Tigray, blocked by Afar forces

A UN spokesperson said the latest detentions had occurred in the capital of Afar province [File: Reuters]

The Afar regional troops have been accused of blocking a convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian assistance to the Tigray region amid a serious shortage of food, Tigray Defense Forces [TDF] has claimed, in the latest standoff within northern Ethiopia.

For 13 months, thousands of people have been subjected to unprecedented hunger in Tigray following a conflict between TDF and the Ethiopia National Defense Forces [ENDF] which was triggered by the delay of elections and an attack on Northern Command.

Getachew Reda, the official spokesperson of TDF, said a 27-trucks convoy was blocked by Afar troops under unclear circumstances despite official clearance by authorities in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopia capital.

"A 27-trucks WFP Convoy apparently left Semera on its way to Tigray. The convoy was expected to break the logjam on humanitarian access to Tigray or so we were told. It turned out, while the Government in Addis had ostensibly given the green light, the regional government of Afar thought the better of it," he claimed.

"The excuse given was that the regional government didn’t approve of the convoy; and there was fighting in Abaala, Afar. The most farcical part of the story is that the so-called Abaala conflict was launched by the Afar forces and their Eritrean partners a few days ago and still continues," he added.

The Eritrean troops have been linked to the assaults within the Tigray region despite efforts by the international community to tame them from engineering genocide. The troops made a return in December 2021 days after the TDF deserted most parts of the Afar and Amhara regions.

Tigray authorities now say there is a need to allow the World Food Programme [WFP] trucks to access the region, noting that thousands of people could die should the situation within northern Ethiopia persist.

"It would be foolhardy for anyone to believe that this was being done without the knowledge of Arat Killo. We desperately need humanitarian aid for our people and are not interested in petty adventures. Unfortunately, the IC is too busy to notice, " he added.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had called for reconciliation but the two parties are yet to agree to terms, further risking the lives of thousands of people in Tigray. The region has been fighting against the administration of Abiy Ahmed, who came into power in 2018.

GAROWE ONLINE