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Addis Ababa (AFP)
Ethiopia has given the United Nations full access to deliver aid to the northern Tigray region, following weeks of lobbying amid military operations there, according to a deal seen Wednesday by AFP.
The agreement, signed by the Ethiopian peace minister, allows “free, sustained and safe access of humanitarian personnel and services to vulnerable populations in [government]-managed areas in Tigray and bordering areas of the Amhara and Afar regions “.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize last year, announced military operations against the leaders of the ruling Tigray party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), on November 4, saying they were in response to attacks organized by the TPLF on federal army camps.
Thousands have been killed in subsequent clashes and tens of thousands have fled to neighboring Sudan.
The government blocked telephone and Internet connections and restricted access to Tigray, making it difficult to assess conditions within the region.
The UN has been warning for weeks of a possible humanitarian catastrophe.
Some 600,000 people living in Tigray depended on food distribution before the fighting started, including 96,000 Eritrean refugees.
Food, fuel and cash are in short supply, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), while the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says basic medical equipment is lacking.
A senior UN official told AFP on Wednesday that the aid deal would allow the UN and its humanitarian partners to administer the assistance “wherever people need it.”
Officials said the needs assessments would begin “as soon as we get clearance from our security personnel.”
– Caregiver administration –
On Saturday night Abiy declared that military operations were “complete” after federal forces took control of the regional capital, Mekele.
The TPLF leadership, however, has vowed to keep fighting and says the fighting continues in multiple locations.
Tigray chief Debretsion Gebremichael said Tuesday that fighting persisted in at least three locations, two of which were “around Mekele” and another near the city of Wukro, 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the north.
The communications blackout has made it impossible to verify the claims of both sides about how the fight is going.
Abiy intends to establish an interim administration in Tigray headed by Mulu Nega, a former high-ranking official in the Ethiopian Ministry of Higher Education.
On Wednesday, Mulu announced that administrators had been installed in the city of Shire, located approximately 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of Mekele, according to a report by state affiliate Fana Broadcasting Corporate.
Analysts warn, however, that the Mulu administration could meet resistance from the Tigrayan population.
The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades before anti-government protests brought Abiy to power in 2018.
Since then, TPLF leaders have complained of having been removed from top positions, subject to corruption trials and generally scapegoats for the country’s problems.
Tensions rose dramatically after Tigray went ahead with regional elections in September, defying a national ban on the polls due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Federal officials declared the Tigray elections “illegal,” while the TPLF fired Abiy, an illegitimate ruler who no longer had the authority to make decisions affecting the region.
© 2020 AFP
