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Since July, 445 trucks have entered Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray, but only 38 have returned-hindering future aid deliveries.
The United Nations stated that hundreds of rescue trucks have not yet returned from the war-torn Tigray area of Ethiopia, and their disappearance is a “major obstacle” to strengthening humanitarian response.
The United Nations World Food Program(WFP) revealed the news on Friday as people’s fears of starving to death in Tigray grew. The United Nations previously estimated that there would be about 350,000 people Facing a situation similar to famine.
WFP spokesperson Gemma Snowden said in a statement that since July 12, 445 signed non-WFP trucks have entered Tigray, but only 38 have returned.
“Currently, this is the main obstacle to the transfer of humanitarian assistance to Tigray. Due to the lack of trucks, we cannot form a large fleet,” Snowden said.
“We will continue to work with transporters and local authorities in Tigray to release the trucks.”
Snowden said the World Food Program has no information about where the trucks are or what they are used for.
Since the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner President Abiy Ahmed sent troops to Tigray in November last year, northern Ethiopia has been suffering from violence, saying that this move was in response to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front ( TPLF) The attack on the barracks.
TPLF, which has dominated national politics before Abi came to power in 2018, stated that the federal army and its allies launched a “coordinated attack” against him.
The 10-month war has killed thousands of people and forced more than 2 million people to flee their homes. There are countless reports of massacres and atrocities, including rapes and extrajudicial executions, and hundreds of thousands of people suffering from famine.
In July, TPLF regained the regional capital of Mekle and most of Tigray. Its forces advanced to the Afar and Amhara regions, marking the expansion of the conflict to previously unaffected areas. Since then, the government estimates that approximately 450,000 people have fled the fighting in these two areas.
According to the United Nations, Tigray is still under a “de facto blockade” and warned that as the fighting drags on and spreads to neighboring areas, “a disaster is imminent.”
Ethiopian authorities and Tigray rebels Blame each other Block the humanitarian convoy trying to reach Tigray.
A government Twitter account on Thursday mentioned “suspicious TPLF [is] Seize trucks for your own logistics”.
But TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda cited the obstacles drivers faced when entering Tigray from the neighbouring Afar area, adding that they had “no relationship” with Tigray officials.
“The truck drivers commissioned by the United Nations complained of insufficient fuel supplies. [security] Worry, being harassed at the checkpoint, being trapped in Afar for months, etc.,” he said on Twitter.
A humanitarian official in Tigray asked to remain anonymous in an interview with Agence France-Presse. He said that many truck drivers are Tigray and face racially motivated harassment at checkpoints when travelling to the area.
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