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A convoy carrying food for Ethiopia’s war-stricken Tigray was attacked over the weekend, the United Nations said on Monday, dealing another blow to the distribution of aid in an area threatened by famine .
The 10-vehicle World Food Program convoy was attacked on Sunday about 115 kilometers (70 miles) from the town of Semera “while attempting to bring essential humanitarian goods into the Tigray region,” WFP said. in a press release.
The agency said it was working with local officials to determine who was behind the incident.
“WFP has suspended the movement of all convoys coming from Semera until the security of the area is assured and the drivers can proceed safely.”
Semera is the capital of the Afar region, which borders Tigray to the east.
The route via Semera to Tigray had become critical for the delivery of aid in recent weeks after two key bridges along other routes were destroyed in late June.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to Tigray last November to arrest and disarm the leaders of the then ruling party in the region, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF).
He said the move came in response to TPLF attacks on Federal Army camps.
The fighting spreads
The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize laureate declared victory in late November after government forces captured Mekele, the capital of Tigray, but TPLF leaders remained at large and fighting continued.
Last month, the war took an astonishing turn when pro-TPLF forces retook Mekele, Abiy declared a unilateral ceasefire, and the army mainly withdrew from Tigray.
But after rebel leaders launched a new offensive intended to regain control of western and southern Tigray – disputed areas that have been occupied by fighters from the Amhara region, which borders Tigray to the south – Abiy vowed to “push back” them.
Officials from six regions and the town of Dire Dawa have since pledged to send troops to support government forces.
Over the weekend, rebel forces carried out what a spokesperson called “very limited action” in Afar targeting special forces and militiamen in the Oromia region, the country’s largest.
A state media report released on Saturday evening accused the TPLF, which the government considers a terrorist organization, of blocking aid to Tigray via Afar using “heavy bombardment” and “heavy artillery” .
But rebel spokesman Getachew Reda denied that the delivery of aid was interrupted, saying the fighting was not close to an aid route.
A senior UN official told the UN Security Council this month that the Tigray conflict has pushed 400,000 people into famine and that an additional 1.8 million people are on the brink of starvation.
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