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Ethiopia declares humanitarian truce in war-ravaged Tigray
[Garowe] Æthiopia’s government on Thursday announced what it called an "indefinite humanitarian truce..The purposes of a truce are twofold: 1.) bring up more arms, ammunition, and reinforcements; and 2.) get the enemy to relax his vigilance. A truceis not the same thing as a ceasefire, and a ceasefiredoesn't mean you have to stop shooting... " in its war-ravaged Tigray region, saying the action was necessary to allow unimpeded relief supplies into the area. "The government calls upon the donor community to redouble their generous contributions to alleviate the situation and reiterates its commitment to work in collaboration with relevant organizations to expedite the provision of humanitarian assistance to those in need," authorities said in a statement issued by the Government Communication Service. The government statement said Tigray’s forces must reciprocate the truce for the humanitarian situation to improve in the region. It urged fighters loyal to Tigray’s runaway leaders "to desist from all acts of further aggression and withdraw from areas they have occupied in neighboring regions." It was not immediately possible to get a comment from Tigray’s leaders. It was not clear if the immediate humanitarian truce is a step toward a comprehensive cease-fire. Æthiopia’s government has faced growing international pressure to ease restrictions on the flow of humanitarian aid  into Tigray.World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, an Æthiopian who considers the Tigray region home, has repeatedly urged Æthiopian authorities to allow unfettered humanitarian access into Tigray. Months of political tensions between Æthiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and the Tigray leaders who once dominated Æthiopia’s government went kaboom!into war in November 2020. The war is believed to have caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people and the displacement of millions. Although the war has subsided in several places, notably within the Tigray and Amhara regions, concerns remain in the northeastern Afar region. Aid into the Tigray region has been severely limited under what the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... described as a "de facto humanitarian blockade." In June Æthiopia’s government cut off almost all access to food aid, medical supplies, cash, and fuel in Tigray. The World Food Program warned earlier this year that three-quarters of Tigray’s population of 6 million are "using extreme coping strategies to survive" and more than a third "are suffering an extreme lack of food." Related: Tigray: 2022-03-22 U.N. Sec'y-General Guterres says Endure Pain of High Gas Prices For The Good of The Planet Tigray: 2022-02-27 UN resumes humanitarian operations in Tigray as Washington calls for ceasefire Tigray: 2022-02-19 Senegal's Pres. Macky Sall: 'If there's no security in Africa, the world won't be secure' Posted by: trailing wife 2022-03-25 |
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