Undisclosed Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) sheltering in Hitsats IDPs centre in the Tigray region of Ethiopia have died of hunger and lack of medical care, the local Disaster Risk Management Commission disclosed on Thursday.
Gebrehiwot Gebregzabher, head of the commission, told local reporters that no food rations have reached the IDPs due to shortage of fuel since the past several days, confirming the death of IDPs due to hunger.
The regional TV Tuesday reported that at least 50 IDPs died over the past few months, noting that the level of starvation in the camp is unprecedented.
A shocking video footage featuring a starved woman has been circulating on social media over the past few days while the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government blame each other for the failure to handle the crisis.
Head of the commission said more than 16,000 displaced people in the camp are reported to be in a dangerous situation at the camp as they are not receiving food aid.
Tigray regional Interim administration on Monday held a meeting to discuss ways of reversing the famine situation in Hitsats.
Ethiopia’s Disaster Risk Management Commission in a statement released on Wednesday said that IDPs in the Hitsats temporary shelter have been provided with “humanitarian food assistance on a priority basis.
The commission disputed that the video footage circulating on social media with claims that no food aid was delivered to the camp is incorrect.
Tadesse Worede, president of the Interim administration of the regional state, said that he is saddened by the video footage he saw. He added that the situation of displaced people in other IDPs camps is not different.
MG/as/APA