WHO chief says his home region in Ethiopia under 'systematic' blockade
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a ceremony to launch a multiyear partnership with Qatar in Geneva
Fri, November 12, 2021, 11:43 AM·2 min read
GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization's chief said on Friday his home Tigray region in northern Ethiopia was being subjected to a "systematic" blockade and people were dying because of a lack of supplies.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did not say who he thought was stopping aid getting through to Tigray, where rebellious forces have been fighting a year-long war with Ethiopia's government.
Ethiopia's government has denied blocking aid to Tigray and has said it is rebuilding infrastructure. The United Nations has repeatedly called on the government to get aid into the north, and has said that shortages there are "man-made".
Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on Tedros's statement on Friday.
"People are dying because of lack of supplies," Tedros, who is an ethnic Tigrayan, told a press briefing in Geneva.
"We cannot send supplies and medicines to Tigray because it is under blockade, and the blockade is systematic," he said. In unusually frank public remarks, he described the situation in Ethiopia as "really distressing".
War broke out in November 2020 between Ethiopian federal troops and forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party of Tigray. Thousands have been killed in the conflict, which has since spread into two neighbouring regions in northern Ethiopia.
Soon after the conflict started, the Ethiopian army's chief of staff accused Tedros of backing the Tigray rebels. He denied that.
The WHO Director-General, who was Ethiopia's health minister during the era when the TPLF dominated national politics, has repeatedly said he is not taking sides in the war.
No U.N.-organised humanitarian supplies have entered Tigray for more than three weeks, the U.N. said on Thursday, adding some 364 trucks are waiting in a neighbouring region, pending authorization from authorities to proceed.
Around 80% of essential medicine is no longer available in Tigray and most health facilities are not functioning, the U.N. said in a report on Thursday.
The warring parties have so far rejected calls from the United States, the United Nations and the African Union for a ceasefire. Both the government and the Tigrayan forces have set conditions that the other rejects.
(Reporting by Emma Farge and Sri Kalyani Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Maggie Fick in Nairobi; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a ceremony to launch a multiyear partnership with Qatar in Geneva
Fri, November 12, 2021, 11:43 AM·2 min read
GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization's chief said on Friday his home Tigray region in northern Ethiopia was being subjected to a "systematic" blockade and people were dying because of a lack of supplies.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did not say who he thought was stopping aid getting through to Tigray, where rebellious forces have been fighting a year-long war with Ethiopia's government.
Ethiopia's government has denied blocking aid to Tigray and has said it is rebuilding infrastructure. The United Nations has repeatedly called on the government to get aid into the north, and has said that shortages there are "man-made".
Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on Tedros's statement on Friday.
"People are dying because of lack of supplies," Tedros, who is an ethnic Tigrayan, told a press briefing in Geneva.
"We cannot send supplies and medicines to Tigray because it is under blockade, and the blockade is systematic," he said. In unusually frank public remarks, he described the situation in Ethiopia as "really distressing".
War broke out in November 2020 between Ethiopian federal troops and forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party of Tigray. Thousands have been killed in the conflict, which has since spread into two neighbouring regions in northern Ethiopia.
Soon after the conflict started, the Ethiopian army's chief of staff accused Tedros of backing the Tigray rebels. He denied that.
The WHO Director-General, who was Ethiopia's health minister during the era when the TPLF dominated national politics, has repeatedly said he is not taking sides in the war.
No U.N.-organised humanitarian supplies have entered Tigray for more than three weeks, the U.N. said on Thursday, adding some 364 trucks are waiting in a neighbouring region, pending authorization from authorities to proceed.
Around 80% of essential medicine is no longer available in Tigray and most health facilities are not functioning, the U.N. said in a report on Thursday.
The warring parties have so far rejected calls from the United States, the United Nations and the African Union for a ceasefire. Both the government and the Tigrayan forces have set conditions that the other rejects.
(Reporting by Emma Farge and Sri Kalyani Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Maggie Fick in Nairobi; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Tigrayan forces say they will 'hunt down' foreign mercenaries
Man walks on the outskirts of Addis Ababa
Fri, November 12, 2021, 7:05 AM·2 min read
NAIROBI (Reuters) -Rebellious Tigrayan forces threatened on Friday to "hunt down" foreigners they said were supporting the Ethiopian government as mercenaries and technical experts in a year-long war.
Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) spokesperson Getachew Reda said the foreigners could be from Turkey, China, Israel or the United Arab Emirates.
Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to a request for comment. There have been no independently verified reports of the warring sides using mercenaries to date.
Getachew told Reuters via satellite phone: "We don’t care (what their nationality is). We will hunt them down. They will be treated like the mercenaries they are."
The war, which has killed thousands and forced more than two million people from their homes.
The conflict escalated this month after rebellious forces from the northern region of Tigray and their allies made territorial gains and threatened to march on the capital. The government says the gains have been exaggerated.
The government declared a state of emergency https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/addis-ababa-government-urges-residents-register-arms-media-2021-11-02 on Nov. 2.
That allows suspects to be detained for as long as the state of emergency lasts; allows house-to-house searches without a warrant; and requires citizens to carry identity cards, some of which - like those issued by some regions - can be an indication of ethnic origin.
The warring parties - the Ethiopian government and the rebellious Tigrayan forces - have so far rejected calls from the United States, the United Nations and the African Union for a ceasefire. Both sides have set conditions that the other rejects.
More than 400,000 people are facing famine in Tigray, the United Nations warns.
No U.N.-organised humanitarian supplies have entered Tigray for more than three weeks, the U.N. said on Thursday, adding some 364 trucks are waiting in a neighbouring region, pending authorization from authorities to proceed.
An estimated 100 trucks per day must enter Tigray to meet critical humanitarian needs, the U.N. says. Around 80% of essential medicine is no longer available in Tigray and most health facilities are not functioning, it says.
The TPLF dominated national politics for three decades until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018 and curbed its power.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick;Editing by Alison Williams and Andrew Heavens)
Man walks on the outskirts of Addis Ababa
Fri, November 12, 2021, 7:05 AM·2 min read
NAIROBI (Reuters) -Rebellious Tigrayan forces threatened on Friday to "hunt down" foreigners they said were supporting the Ethiopian government as mercenaries and technical experts in a year-long war.
Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) spokesperson Getachew Reda said the foreigners could be from Turkey, China, Israel or the United Arab Emirates.
Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to a request for comment. There have been no independently verified reports of the warring sides using mercenaries to date.
Getachew told Reuters via satellite phone: "We don’t care (what their nationality is). We will hunt them down. They will be treated like the mercenaries they are."
The war, which has killed thousands and forced more than two million people from their homes.
The conflict escalated this month after rebellious forces from the northern region of Tigray and their allies made territorial gains and threatened to march on the capital. The government says the gains have been exaggerated.
The government declared a state of emergency https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/addis-ababa-government-urges-residents-register-arms-media-2021-11-02 on Nov. 2.
That allows suspects to be detained for as long as the state of emergency lasts; allows house-to-house searches without a warrant; and requires citizens to carry identity cards, some of which - like those issued by some regions - can be an indication of ethnic origin.
The warring parties - the Ethiopian government and the rebellious Tigrayan forces - have so far rejected calls from the United States, the United Nations and the African Union for a ceasefire. Both sides have set conditions that the other rejects.
More than 400,000 people are facing famine in Tigray, the United Nations warns.
No U.N.-organised humanitarian supplies have entered Tigray for more than three weeks, the U.N. said on Thursday, adding some 364 trucks are waiting in a neighbouring region, pending authorization from authorities to proceed.
An estimated 100 trucks per day must enter Tigray to meet critical humanitarian needs, the U.N. says. Around 80% of essential medicine is no longer available in Tigray and most health facilities are not functioning, it says.
The TPLF dominated national politics for three decades until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018 and curbed its power.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick;Editing by Alison Williams and Andrew Heavens)
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