Trucks carrying foodstuffs access Tigray as Ethiopia suspends NGOs

The first WFP food distribution arrived in Adi Millen, in May. Photo: WFP/Claire Nevill

NAIROBI, Kenya - At least 175 trucks carrying foodstuffs on Wednesday accessed the Tigray region, the World Food Programme [WFP] confirmed, amid reports of starvation and humanitarian conflict, which risks putting millions of people at risk.

For weeks, several aid agencies have been struggling to access the Tigray region, which has been the epicenter of the clashes between the Ethiopia National Defense Forces [ENDF] and the Tigray Defense Forces [TDF].

Both parties have been blaming each other for blockades, further making it impossible for locals to access food from aid organizations. The TDF at first accused ENDF of cutting supply links while ENDF insists it's the federal army that was deliberately blocking humanitarian teams.

However, a number of trucks accessed Mekelle, the regional administrative capital of Tigray which was worst hit by the conflict, with an additional 200 trucks also expected to access the town soon. Over 4 million people are risking starvation.

WFP said it wants 100 trucks moving in every day to meet the vast humanitarian needs in the war-torn region. Thousands of people have also been displaced from Tigray with a number of them finding safe haven in neighboring Sudan.

This comes even as the Agency for Civil Society Organizations of Ethiopia has announced the suspension of the work permits of three foreign humanitarian organizations.

MSF Holland, Norwegian Refugee Council, and Al Maktoum Foundation are the organizations whose work permits have been suspended by the agency, according to Ethiopia Current Issue Fact Check, state media reported in the latest twist of events.

While they have been engaged in different humanitarian operations in Ethiopia, the agency has identified rule violations by these organizations while monitoring their activities, the Fact Check office said in a statement.

According to the office, MSF Holland and the Norwegian Refugee Council have been disseminating misinformation in social media and other platforms outside of the mandate and purpose for which the organizations were permitted to operate.

These organizations employed foreign nationals without the appropriate work permit from the Ethiopian government for more than six months, it added.

MSF Holland allegedly imported and used satellite radio equipment that was not authorized by the relevant authority and the employees were thus apprehended by the security forces for using the equipment for illegal purposes.

Similarly, Al Maktoum Foundation failed to comply with the Ministry of Education’s COVI D-19 protocol, its mismanagement of the budget, the misuse of the budget in the name of the school, and problems with staff management, state media claimed.

The Agency for Civil Society Organizations stated that the activities of the organizations have been suspended for three months in accordance with Article 77 (4) of Proclamation No. 1113/2011 until a final decision is made.

GAROWE ONLINE