The government must honor its promise of humanitarian access to Tigray

Responding to news that the Ethiopian government has agreed to allow aid workers to expand access to the Tigray region, where nearly three million people need assistance after the conflict began in November, Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s deputy director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes said:

“Over the past three months, the extent of human suffering in Tigray is unknown, exacerbated by restricted access to the region and Internet and telephone outages.

“The Ethiopian authorities must keep their promise to allow humanitarian access to the region, where civilians continue to bear the brunt of the fighting. The authorities must do everything in their power to facilitate access for humanitarian and human rights workers to civilians in Tigray whose lives have been torn apart by the fighting.

“With so many stakes, the Ethiopian authorities must not renege on this agreement. We reiterate our call on all parties to the conflict to respect their obligation under international humanitarian law to facilitate rapid and unimpeded access to impartial humanitarian assistance. “

Background
The humanitarian crisis in Tigray, Ethiopia has been exacerbated by fighting between the Ethiopian federal government and the ruling Tigray regional government party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which began in November 2020. Amnesty International has called for full humanitarian access to the region, where the conflict continues.