The UN World Food Program said it will run out of food reserves in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region as of next Friday.
Last month, WFP appealed for unimpeded access to Ethiopia’s northern province of Tigray where an estimated four million people are suffering from acute hunger.
However, about 170 trucks with food and other supplies have been ‘stuck’ in the neighboring Afar region since last week and WFP has been demanding for unblock of the supplies.
“Some 170 trucks must be allowed to move now, “ David Beasley tweeted on Tuesday, noting that 100 such trucks are needed per day in Tigray. “People are starving” he said
WFP Executive Director David Beasley warned that hundreds of thousands of people in Tigray region could face the world’s worst famine crises in a decade.
The government accused the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) of blocking the food supplies to the affected people, largely rural communities.
In early November, conflict between the Ethiopian Government and regional forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) began when the Prime Minister ordered a military offensive after rebels attacked a federal army base.
As conflict escalates in the surrounding regions, including neighboring Afar, safe passage for humanitarian convoys into Tigray remains primary concern for WFP and the humanitarian community.
MG/abj/APA