Deadly Israeli airstrikes pound Gaza as Doha talks raise hopes for ceasefire    Egypt accelerates coastal protection projects amid rising climate threats    Egypt's PM calls Israeli war on Gaza 'most dangerous crisis' at BRICS summit    Egypt's FinMin urges BRICS to support debt sustainability    Egypt's gold prices up on July 6th    Venezuela vows to uphold sovereignty on 214th independence anniversary    ADIB Egypt publishes second sustainability report for 2024    Egypt, Saudi FMs discuss Gaza truce, Iran-Israel tensions    Over 215,000 projects funded under Mashrouak, exceeding EGP 33bn in May: Minister    Egypt, Norway hold informal talks ahead of global plastic treaty negotiations    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    UN conference cites Egypt's 'NWFE' programme as model for development finance    Global tour for Korean 'K-Comics' launches in Cairo with 'Hellbound' exhibition    China's factory output expands in June '25    Philip Morris Misr announces new price list effective 1 July    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger    Egypt's FM, China's Wang discuss Iran-Israel escalation    Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed to Q4    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's EDA joins high-level Africa-Europe medicines regulatory talks    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Eritrean troops in Tigray will `leave soon': Ethiopia envoy
Published in Ahram Online on 16 - 06 - 2021

Ethiopia's U.N. ambassador said Tuesday that Eritrean troops who have been fighting with his country's forces in a war against the Tigray region's fugitive leaders ``will definitely leave soon,'' a move that would be welcomed by many including the United Nations whose humanitarian chief accused the Eritreans of using starvation as ``a weapon of war.''
The war in Tigray was the subject of an informal closed meeting of the U.N. Security Council where aid chief Mark Lowcock warned that over 350,000 people were in famine conditions, with deaths from starvation already reported and Ethiopia's U.N. envoy Taye Atske Selassie Amde disputed the famine-related data but said there is ``food insecurity'' in Tigray and expressed gratitude for donor help.
Lowcock strongly defended the data released last week showing that 350,000 people are facing famine and over 2 million are just a step away . It was released by The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification known as the IPC, which is a global partnership of 15 U.N. agencies and international humanitarian organizations, and uses five categories of food security ranging from people who have enough to eat to those facing ``Famine-Humanitarian Catastrophe.''
In his briefing to the Security Council obtained by The Associated Press, Lowcock called the IPC ``the world's most sophisticated, authoritative, comprehensive, professionally rigorous assessment'' and said if it was wrong, ``it is because it is too optimistic.''
``The Tigray administration have reported deaths from starvation,'' he said. ``The situation is set to get worse in the coming months, not only in Tigray, but in (neighboring) Afar and Amhara as well.''
Lowcock said the more than 350,000 people in famine ``catastrophe'' conditions is a larger number than the world has seen anywhere in the world since 250,000 Somalis lost their lives to famine in 2011.
The largely agricultural Tigray region of about 5.5 million people already had a food security problem amid a locust outbreak when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Nov. 4 announced fighting between his forces and those of the defiant regional government. Tigray leaders dominated Ethiopia for almost three decades but were sidelined after Abiy introduced reforms that won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.
No one knows how many thousands of civilians or combatants have been killed. More than 50,000 have fled into neighboring Sudan. Though Abiy declared victory in late November, Ethiopia's military and allied fighters remain active including troops from neighboring Eritrea, a bitter enemy of the now-fugitive officials who once led Tigray.
In addition to Eritrean soldiers using starvation as ``a weapon of war,'' Lowcock told the Security Council that ``rape is being used systematically to terrorize women and girls. ... Displaced people are being rounded up, beaten and threatened. Aid workers have been killed, interrogated, beaten, blocked from taking aid to the starving and suffering and told not to come back.''
He warned that without an end to the war and a political solution in Tigray, protection of civilians, and the departure of Eritrean soldiers who are responsible for ``substantial violations'' of international humanitarian law, ``no one should be surprised to see a re-run of 1984.''
In the disastrous famine of 1984-85, about 2 million Africans died of starvation or famine-related ailments, about half of them in Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in late March that the Eritreans had agreed to go.
Asked when they would leave, Ethiopia's Amde told reporters after the council meeting that ``there is a commitment from my government, and the Eritreans are very clear as well, that it is a matter of sorting out some technical and procedural issues. Our expectation is they will definitely leave soon.''
Britain's U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward said, ``there can be no further delay.''
``Farmers have been unable to plant next year's crops due to the violence,'' she told reporters. ``The window for them to do so is about to close. And while the violence continues, it is not only condemning the people of Tigray to desperate hunger this year, but next year, too.''
Woodward stressed that the lives of millions of people hang in the balance. ``The solution is clear: a cease-fire, humanitarian access and political dialogue,'' she said.
Woodward said the United Kingdom has announced a further 16.7 million pounds ($23.4 million) in aid for Ethiopia, bringing the total to 47.7 million pounds ($66.8 million) since the conflict began eight months ago. Ambassador Amde singled out the contributions from the UK and China.
Lowcock said the United States ``is the only donor who has stepped up in any sort of meaningful way so far.'' He stressed that funding is needed now ``to prevent the famine from getting worse.''
The three African members of the Security Council _ Tunisia, Niger, Kenya joined by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines _ issued a statement late Tuesday expressing ``concern for the humanitarian needs faced by 17.1 million Ethiopians including people in the Tigray region'' and called for stepped up aid.
The 14 point statement never mentions famine and warns the council that any action it takes ``must recognize and respond to the reality that Ethiopia is finalizing preparations for an election that is barely a week away.``


Clic here to read the story from its source.