

Ethiopia: Tigray Human Rights Advocacy Network (THRAN) – Open Statement (16.03.2022)






“The humanitarian response operations in northern Ethiopia remain restricted by several factors, including insecurity and bureaucratic impediments such as the inability to bring sufficient supplies, fuel, and cash to Tigray on one hand, and on the other, the high number of people in need, limited access to people in hard-to-reach areas due to insecurity, and limited presence of partners on the ground in some areas” (OCHA, 17.02.2022).
The humanitarian assistance blockade to the Tigray region in Northern Ethiopia isn’t only in words or by description of International Aid agencies. No, it is a real deal and has consequences, as the man made famine and starvation is done in such a large scale.
Just read this one here:
“In Tigray, the most northern parts along the Eritrean border including some kebeles in Rama in Central Zone, Erob in Eastern Zone, and Zala Anbessa town in Eastern Zone are still inaccessible for partners with tens of thousands of people in those areas who have not received any assistance for the past few months. In Amhara, some areas bordering Tigray are still inaccessible including parts in North Gondar, Wag Hemera and North Wollo zones due to security concerns and a volatile situation depriving the population from humanitarian assistance, including from critical food distribution. Hostilities and insecurity continued to block the delivery of humanitarian supplies into Tigray by road, via Semera-Abala-Mekelle, which has not been accessible since 15 December. The current blockage of this route has further exacerbated the flow of humanitarian supplies into Tigray, as the level of the supplies that was allowed before mid-December has been far below what is needed mainly due to bureaucratic impediments.Overall, 1,339 trucks have entered the Tigray region from Semera since 12 July, which represents only 8 per cent of the required supplies needed to meet the vast scale of humanitarian needs in Tigray. An additional 17 trucks of supplies entered from Kombolcha, Amahara, to Tigray last November” (OCHA, 17.02.2022).
When you read stuff like this… it should be a worry and a concern as so many innocent lives are behind the besieged region, which the Federal Government have abandoned and left to die. That’s why all the roads are closed into the Tigray region. While the Federal Government and their allies are claiming it’s the Tigray Defence Force (TDF) who does this damage to the region. Like they haven’t been doing this since the start of the conflict in November 2020. Therefore, we know the drill and it continues.
There is now people in Amhara, Afar and 9 millions in the Tigray region who needs humanitarian assistance in regard to food and other basic necessities. That is something you need to remember. This conflict is only causing more victims and innocent civilians who are dying because of it. Plenty more who is not eating a balanced diet. Therefore, the Federal Government is just showing their sinister plans and how they want to suffocate the region.
One step at the time, one road-block and another bureaucratic hurdle to stop it from entering and getting to the ones in dire need of help. Peace.

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Boris Cheshirkov – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
GENEVA, Switzerland, February 18, 2022 – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is working with the Ethiopian authorities and partners to provide emergency aid to thousands of Eritrean refugees who fled Barahle refugee camp and its environs in the Afar region after fighting engulfed the area.
Refugees who trekked the long distance to the regional capital in Semera told UNHCR staff that armed men entered the camp on 3 February, stole their belongings and occupied their homes. According to their testimonies, at least five refugees were killed and several women were kidnapped. Family members lost one another in the chaos of fleeing the camp.
So far, over 4,000 refugees are in Semera where UNHCR together with Ethiopia’s Government Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) and other partners are providing immediate support with shelter, relief items, food as well as clean water. We have also set up protection desks where the most vulnerable among the refugees, including separated children and others with specific needs, are being identified and provided with support.
Around 10,000 refugees are also reported to be living in Afdera town, approximately 225 kilometers from Semera. Others are also believed to have fled towards the towns of Altefa and Dabure, further inland.
The government has identified a temporary site in Serdo town, 40 kilometers from Semera, where UNHCR, RRS and partners are making preparations in order to quickly relocate refugees.
With yet another refugee camp severely impacted, UNHCR remains extremely worried about the safety and wellbeing of thousands of Eritrean refugees caught up in the conflict.
We condemn the attack on the refugee camp and reiterate the call for cessation of hostilities to avoid further destruction and potential loss of life for refugees and Ethiopians alike, and so that much needed humanitarian assistance can reach them.
There are also large numbers of internally displaced Ethiopians in the Afar region, including some 300,000 uprooted by the recent fighting.
UNHCR will continue our efforts to support the Ethiopian government in its response to refugees and displaced populations affected by the conflict.












WHO has been permitted to deliver medical supplies to Tigray, Ethiopia, for the first time since July 2021, but there is no fuel to distribute them to health centres.
The supplies, which are now in storage until they can be distributed, include essential medical equipment, personal protective equipment, antibiotics, medicines for malaria and diabetes, including insulin, treatment for severe acute malnutrition, and medicines and supplies for reproductive health. Our partner, the World Food Programme (WFP), began airlifting them to Mekelle, in Tigray, on 11 February. More shipments are planned this week.
Fuel for humanitarian operations has not been allowed into Tigray since August 2021, except for two WFP trucks in November.
The lack of fuel, cash and supplies has caused humanitarian operations in Tigray to be reduced or suspended altogether, as highlighted in OCHA’s humanitarian update for Northern Ethiopia last week.
The WHO shipments, which are part of 33.5 metric tonnes of planned deliveries, still represent a small portion of what is needed. Without access to supplies, health workers are trying to continue to provide health services with almost no medicines or functioning equipment.
According to OCHA, health partners estimate the following supplies are required to meet the urgent nutrition and health needs of the people in Tigray: 2,200 metric tonnes of emergency health kits; 1.5 million doses of cholera vaccine; polio oral vaccination for 888,000 children under five years; more than 30,000 metric tonnes of nutrition supplies for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition in outpatient clinics and 100 metric tonnes for children hospitalized at stabilization centres; about 830 metric tonnes of nutrient supplements to fortify the nutrition of 1.4 million people, mainly women and children; and 15,000 metric tonnes of Vitamin A supplements.
Malnutrition rates among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women in Tigray, as well as in Amhara and Afar, remain alarmingly high. For example, nutrition screening campaigns conducted in recent months found that 71% of pregnant and breastfeeding women in Tigray were acutely malnourished. The figure in Afar was 45%, and in Amhara was 14%.
Access has been relatively easier in Amhara and Afar regions with WHO shipping 84 metric tonnes of supplies in late December 2021. WHO is planning to ship an additional 15-20 metric tonnes to Afar to meet the health needs of people recently displaced as a result of the ongoing fighting on the Tigray-Afar border.
WHO calls again for unfettered access to provide humanitarian aid in Tigray. We call for fuel to be allowed into Tigray urgently, with the support from national authorities and international partners, so that WHO and partners can meet the humanitarian needs of all Ethiopians.