Over the last two years, the Ethiopian government under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has implemented a de-facto blockade of the Tigray region, preventing millions of Tigray residents from accessing critical life-saving medical and food supplies, and consigning millions to famine-like conditions. For the past year, the people of Tigray have had no access to electricity, telecom, and banking.
This complete blockade means there is a dearth of information about the magnitude of the tragedy unfolding before the eyes of the international community.
For perspective, the humanitarian toll of the ongoing civil war and the humanitarian blockade of Tigray is many times greater in magnitude than the situation in Ukraine.
The people of Tigray continue to suffer as a result of the multi-pronged military assault by the Eritrean and Ethiopian armies and the humanitarian blockage, all of which are designed to bring them to their knees. Hundreds of thousands remain displaced as a result of the conflict, and millions remain malnourished. Many die daily in hospitals due to a lack of medical supplies. The toll on Tigray’s people of the continued total blockade and the military siege cannot be overstated.
After months of mobilization, over the past month, the Ethiopian and Eritrean armies have renewed their military assault on Tigray from multiple fronts. This fresh assault follows a mobilization drive in Eritrea that included forced conscription of minors and reservists.
Tigray continues to be hit by daily barrage of bombs from drones and aircraft, the most recent of which happened in Adi Daero on September 28, 2022, and resulted in the death and injury of many civilians. These indiscriminate bombardments of civilian areas continue to accrue significant civilian casualties and continue to terrorize innocent civilians living far away from direct conflict zones.
The international community can no longer continue to ignore this great humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding in front of its eyes and must start to actively work to bring an end to this human tragedy.
Human Rights Concern-Eritrea (HRCE) calls on the international community to urgently work to:
- Demand the Eritrean forces withdraw from Tigray;
- End the siege unconditionally, and ensure and enforce a humanitarian corridor for desperately needed medical and food supplies;
- Enforce a no-fly zone to protect civilians living in areas away from direct conflict zones.
- Force the warring parties to cease hostilities and resume talks.
https://apnews.com/article/politics-africa-ethiopia-blockades-c7a2408e5a4fa7d12b898861c018cf1a
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/12/blockade-creates-hell-in-ethiopias-tigray-who
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/27/un-condemns-tigray-airstrike-that-killed-children
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-29/ethiopia-s-civil-war-is-heating-up-once-again
