Ethiopia: Government must honor the promise of humanitarian access to Tigray

Amnesty International urged on Tuesday the Ethiopian government to allow humanitarian access to the Tigray region, where civilians continue to bear the brunt of the fighting.

“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”, said Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for East Africa, the Horn and Great Lakes  Sarah Jackson.

“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”, she added.

Responding to news that the Ethiopian government has agreed to allow humanitarian aid workers expanded access to the Tigray region, Sarah Jackson said: “

“With so much at stake, Ethiopian authorities must not renege on this agreement”.

She called on all parties to the conflict to comply with their obligation under international humanitarian law to facilitate rapid, unimpeded access for impartial humanitarian relief.”

Nearly three million people need assistance after conflict broke out in November 2020, between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray regional government ruling party, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The post Ethiopia: Government must honor the promise of humanitarian access to Tigray first appeared on The African Gazette.