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The United Nations has signed an agreement with the government of Ethiopia to allow “unhindered” humanitarian access to the conflict-ridden Tigray region, at least the parts under federal government control.
This will allow first aid to reach the region of six million people that has been isolated during the fighting that started a month ago between the federal and regional governments of Tigray.
Each considers the other as illegal in a power struggle that has been in the making for months.
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Many people have left Tigray amid the violence (Nariman El-Mofty / AP)
AP / PA images
For weeks, the UN and others have called for access to aid amid reports that food, medicine and other supplies are running low.
Trucks loaded with aid have been blocked at the Tigray borders, and humanitarian groups were increasingly eager for unimpeded and neutral access to Tigray.
UN humanitarian spokesman Saviano Abreu said the first mission to carry out a needs assessment in the region will begin on Wednesday after the agreement.
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Thousands of Tigray refugees have fled to a remote area of neighboring Sudan (Nariman El-Mofty / AP)
AP / PA images
He said: “Of course we are working to make sure that assistance is provided throughout the region and for every person who needs it.”
The UN and its partners are committed to working with “all parties to the conflict to ensure that humanitarian action in the Tigray, Amhara and Afar regions is strictly needs-based and carried out in accordance with the principles of humanity. , impartiality, independence and neutrality agreed worldwide. ”, He added.
More than a million people in Tigray are believed to be displaced, including 45,000 who have fled to a remote area of neighboring Sudan.
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