Ethiopia: A new offensive is planned from the Afar region to attack the Tigray Region

“Over 300,000 northern #Afar living under trees, herded by the terrifying sound of artillery.” As of March 8, 43,000 Konnoba Afar fleeing into the last remaining “safe” land are under the threat of dying of thirst.” – Afar Pastoralist Development Association (APDA, 10.04.2022).

ACT NOW to prevent more bloodshed in Ethiopia. Eritrean general Humed Karkari, and Awel Araba have signed a military agreement on 4/7/2022. They are fully positioned to launch a new offensive against Tigray. In the meantime 6 milion Tigrayans continue to suffer under the humanitarian blockade and the threat of extermination and IDPs in Afar continue to suffer from lack of basic humanitarian support from the government. ACTNOW and save lives” (Afar Federalist Diaspora Coordination Committee, 10.04.2022).

General Semeon Gebredingil who manages Eritrea’s internal security, police, immigration and airport security is also now in Addis Ababa. Eritrea not only is making top military decisions in Afar but has infiltrated the federal government of Ethiopia. As long as Eritrea continues to operate in Ethiopia, war will be inevitable and peace impossible” (Afar Federalist Diaspora Coordination Committee, 10.04.2022).

All roads at this moment are going towards Asayita, as the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) and Eritrean Defence Force (EDF) is planning a new joint effort to invade and conquer the whole Tigray region. The recent reports are stating so and there been troop movement to the Afar region and the border zones of the Amhara region.

Alas, the secrecy of the planned attack and offensive on Tigray has been out there for awhile. It is just that the voices of Afar region is saying it. The latest release of a few trucks into the Tigray region. Wasn’t really any real humanitarian truce, but instead it was a smokescreen.

Since they are planning a new offensive and has an agreement to do so. The allies are doing it yet again and will do so soon. The people of Afar and the organizations there know it. The ones following the movement of troops. See it, hear it and the war-drums are returning.

The Tigray Defence Force (TDF) have attacked the Afar Region for awhile, but that will also be a front for the Tigray, as they are defending their region. Therefore, it was a strategically move, which has hurt innocent Afar people and hundreds of thousands are internally displaced.

The Tigray region is starving, in a famine and it’s man made. The Afar organizations are even asking to save the millions of Tigrayan people. While they are meeting the blunt force of the TDF, as they are defending their region.

However, we should soon anticipate an announcement and the Prime Minister Abiy in military fatigue. Where he promised to “liberate” and “end the TPLF” once and for all. That is what is coming and with the knowledge of Afar. We should see this happening sooner or later. Because, the Federal Government have prepared together with Eritrea another offensive. Peace.

World Food Programme: New assessment confirms deteriorating food security across South Sudan; UN agencies urge scale up in assistance to stave off hunger (09.04.2022)

UN organizations are renewing the call for more humanitarian and livelihoods assistance to stave off looming hunger and enhance resilience.

JUBA, South Sudan, April 9, 2022 – Food insecurity is likely to rise by seven percent across South Sudan in the coming months, compared to last year, according to a new United Nations report on food security. UN organizations are renewing the call for more humanitarian and livelihoods assistance to stave off looming hunger and enhance resilience.

Climatic shocks (floods and droughts), conflict, economic downturn, displacement and disrupted livelihoods are driving the worsening trend in food security with 7.74 million people (62.7 percent of the population) across the country slated to face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse levels of acute food insecurity during the lean season between April and July 2022, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis.

The most affected states are Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, Lakes, Eastern Equatoria (Kapoeta East) and Warrap. More than 80 percent of the entire food-insecure population are from within these states.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) warn that greater humanitarian assistance and livelihoods support is needed immediately to save lives and prevent the collapse of livelihoods in the worst-affected locations across South Sudan.

Those locations include Fangak, Canal/Pigi and Ayod counties in Jonglei State; Pibor County in Greater Pibor Administrative Area; Cueibet and Rumbek North counties in Lakes State; and Leer and Mayendit counties in Unity State where a combined total of 87 000 people are expected to be in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) acute food insecurity.

Recurring flooding creates new challenges

“FAO is concerned by the rising number of food-insecure people driven by the additional burden of heavy flooding that has occurred in the country for the last three consecutive years,” said Meshack Malo, FAO Representative in South Sudan.

“To tackle acute hunger, we need to produce more food where it is needed most. FAO will continue to provide seeds, tools and fishing kits to people in urgent need of assistance. We also need increased investment to allow us to find innovative ways to help South Sudanese farmers adapt to climate change so they can grow enough food to meet their nutritional requirements,” added Malo.

In response to flooding, FAO has been assisting vulnerable farmers to build dykes and water channels, providing trainings on eco-friendly best agricultural practices and post-harvest handling, and is also promoting increased use of flood-resistant food crops such as rice.

Children among the most affected by food insecurity

The IPC report shows that in 2022, about 1.34 million children under five years are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition based on the results of SMART nutrition surveys, the Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring System (FSNMS) survey, and programme admission trends.

Children in Jonglei, Upper Nile, Unity and Western Bahr el Ghazal States are the most affected.

The major factors contributing to acute malnutrition include high prevalence of diseases such as diarrhea and inadequate feeding practices of infants and young children due to a lack of dietary diversity and infrequent meals.

“As access to those in need improves due to the peace process, we have been making significant progress in treating severe malnutrition in children, but floods and other climate-related shocks leave more children vulnerable. More than 90 percent of children under five put into therapeutic feeding programmes fully recover, and yet funding for this life-saving response is increasingly a challenge,” said Jesper Moller, Acting UNICEF Representative in South Sudan.

Increased assistance demonstrates results

The latest IPC report shows that in Pibor, where WFP was able to scale up its life-saving food and nutrition assistance throughout 2021, the number of people in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe) declined from 33,000 in 2021 to less than 10,000 in 2022, showing the benefits of increased humanitarian food assistance.

Despite this improvement, the total number of projected food insecure people in South Sudan increased from 7.2 million in 2021 to 7.74 million in 2022. Three consecutive years of increased flooding, the loss of livelihoods, destruction of farmland and livestock and subsequent displacement have deepened the dire hunger crisis engulfing South Sudan, pushing millions into abject poverty as food becomes scarce and millions struggle to survive.

Without consistent humanitarian and agricultural assistance to help communities cope and tackle hunger by supporting those who grow their own food – severe humanitarian consequences are inevitable.

Urgent collective action needed to reduce hunger during the height of the lean season

“We are extremely concerned with the findings that point to a continued deterioration in the food security situation and a sharp rise in the number of people facing hunger,” said Adeyinka Badejo, Acting Country Director for WFP South Sudan.

“The 2022 IPC report represents a successful and collaborative multi-stakeholder process led by the Government of South Sudan. Its findings compel us all to take urgent steps to alleviate severe hunger and prevent a further deterioration in the coming months, while simultaneously building resilience to future shocks,” added Badejo.

FAO, UNICEF and WFP are united in their call for greater funding to allow for increased humanitarian assistance and emphasize the importance of the continued implementation of the peace agreement to address the root causes of insecurity across the country.

Ethiopia: Tigray External Affairs Office – Statement on the Joint Report of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on Atrocity Crimes Committed in Western Tigray (08.04.2022)

World Food Programme: Hunger in West Africa reaches record high in a decade as the region faces an unprecedented crisis exacerbated by Russia-Ukraine conflict (08.04.2022)

Needs are escalating much faster than we are currently able to respond – this in an immensely complex and volatile operational environment.

DAKAR, Senegal, April 8, 2022 – The number of women, men and children affected by a food and nutrition crisis in West and Central Africa is expected to reach a new record high in June 2022 – quadrupling in just three years from 10.7 million in 2019 to 41 million in 2022 – unless appropriate measures are urgently taken, reveals the Cadre Harmonisé food security analysis released in March 2022.

Following the high-level conference in Paris on food security and nutrition situation in West Africa, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are calling for longer-term political and financial commitments to address the worst food security and nutrition crisis to strike the region in ten years.

“The situation is spiralling out of control. Needs are escalating much faster than we are currently able to respond – this in an immensely complex and volatile operational environment,” said Chris Nikoi, WFP’s Regional Director for West Africa.

“Both governments and partners need a step-change in tackling the underlying drivers of hunger and malnutrition. Bold and rigorous political actions are needed now, including lifting barriers to the regional trade and ensuring the most acute needs are met during a lean season that is projected to be extremely challenging in the region” Nikoi added.

There is a high risk that the food and nutrition crisis will be further aggravated due to persistent insecurity that continues to trigger massive population displacement, the impact of the climate crisis, disrupted food systems, limited food production, barriers to regional trade and the socioeconomic fallout from the pandemic which has devastated national economies. Furthermore, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine is violently disrupting the global trade of food, fertilisers and oil products, with the already high prices of agricultural products reaching record highs not seen in the region since 2011.

While the increase in staple food prices has been steady in all countries in the region, a staggering 40 percent jump from the 5-year average has been witnessed in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo, Niger, Mali and Mauritania – pushing basic meals out of reach for millions of women, men and children.

“This unprecedented food crisis the region is facing offers an opportunity for us to address the root causes of food insecurity in the sub-region by developing food and agricultural systems that are less dependent on external shocks, and a more productive and efficient local agriculture with a particular emphasis on the consumption of local food products” said Dr Gouantoueu Robert Guei, Sub-Regional Coordinator for West Africa and FAO representative in Senegal.

The nutritional situation also remains a grave concern in the region, particularly in the Sahelian countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad where an estimated six million children under five are likely to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2022. Nutritional analyses conducted across the Sahel and in Nigeria point to a crisis or emergency situation in several locations in Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria.

“Africa has the largest untapped potential of arable land, yet most of these countries import food. Governments need to support long-term agriculture plans for the next generation, including investments in developing agriculture, livestock and fisheries to achieve food security”, said Benoit Thierry, IFAD Regional representative in West Africa.

The March 2022 Cadre Harmonisé projections suggest that in coastal countries, the number of food insecure people has doubled since 2020, rising from 3 million people in the June-August 2020 period to over 6 million in June-August 2022. This includes nearly 110,000 people facing Emergency (Phase 4) levels of food insecurity. The coastal region is likely to experience further increases in food prices and disruptions in the supply of agricultural products (especially fertilizers), due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

“Acute food insecurity is no longer restricted to the Sahel; it is expanding into Costal countries. We need to respond in a way that is sustainable, at the right scale, and that tackles the multifaceted socio-political and socio-economic elements of the crises the region faces. This will only be achieved through enhanced collaboration, coordination mechanisms at national and regional levels, and leadership at all levels, including from governments, donors, and UN agencies” Nikoi added.

Somalia: Somalia faces Risk of Famine (IPC Phase 5) as multi-season drought and soaring food prices lead to worsening acute food insecurity and malnutrition (08.04.2022)

Ethiopia: Tigray External Affairs Office – Statement on the Increasingly Dire Humanitarian Situation (07.04.2022)

Ethiopia: Global Society of Tigray Scholars and Professionals (GSTS) – Press Release on the Alarming News of Alleged Mass Graves Found in Western Tigray (06.04.2022)

Somalia: Somali NGO Consortium letter to Secretary General Antonio Guterres – Re: Urgent action needed to avert a possible famine in Somalia in 2022 (06.04.2022)

Ethiopia: Ministry of Foreign Affairs – On the Joint Report of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (06.04.2022)

Ethiopia: Tigray External Affairs Office – Statement on the Amhara Expansionist Forces Desecration of Victims of Tigray Genocide (05.04.2022)