The security situation in northern Ethiopia remains fragile and unpredictable, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Friday in a statement.
Although the overall situation in Tigray and Amhara regions continue to be relatively calm as lines of contacts remained static, armed clashes, with reported use of heavy weapons and airstrikes, continued to be reported in multiple locations in Afar Region mainly in Berhale, Erebti, Koneba, and Abala districts, all in Kilbeti zone (Zone 2).
Insecurity in Afar and earlier administrative measures, with no relief convoys reaching Tigray since mid-December, continue to affect civilian lives, their safety, and restrict access to livelihoods, OCHA said in a statement.
“The situation further increases humanitarian needs notably with a continuing and growing number of displaced people and hinders humanitarian access and delivery of aid to affected areas in northern Ethiopia,” it said.
According to Afar regional government authorities, the ongoing conflict has so far displaced hundreds of thousands of people, mostly pastoralists, in Zone 2 alone, and displacement is still ongoing. Consequently, the humanitarian situation in the region continues to be dire and is further deteriorating.
An estimated 200,000 people, including internally displaced people (IDPs) in Afar, are in hard-to-reach locations either due to road conditions, security concerns, or trapped behind the lines of contact or took refuge in remote areas with no access to humanitarian assistance and services.
In accessible areas in Afar, humanitarian response is insufficient owing to low partner presence and limited resources to respond to the fast-growing needs. A recent protection assessment mission to the Euwa, Chifra and Adar displacement sites in zone 1 (Awsi) and zone 4 (Fenti) identified food as a top priority followed by child protection and health care services.
Access to food, shelter, health, education, sanitation, water, energy, and markets is overwhelmingly characterized as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ by key informants across the two zones.
MG/abj/APA