The United Nations has warned of increasing food insecurity for people living in northern Ethiopia after its warehouses, stocked with vital supplies, were ransacked.
An increasing number of Ethiopians rely on aid amid the ongoing conflict between the government and Tigrayan rebelsImage: Mulugeta Ayene/AP/picture alliance
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An estimated 9.4 million people are currently in dire need of food aid in northern Ethiopia, according to the United Nations (UN), as the ongoing Tigray conflict shows no signs of abating.
The humanitarian situation is most acute in the Tigray Region, where 5.2 million are at risk, along with another 534,000 in Afar and 3.3 million in Amhara.
However, there is still no indication as to when help will arrive after the UN announced on Wednesday that it was forced to suspend aid distribution in the northern Ethiopian town of Kombolcha after gunmen looted its warehouses.
UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said there was "mass looting of warehouses across Kombolcha in recent days, reportedly by elements of the Tigrayan forces and some members of the local population."
"Large quantities of humanitarian food supplies, including nutritional items for malnourished children, have been stolen," he added.
Millions of displaced Ethiopians require everything from food to emergency sheltersImage: AA/picture alliance
Warring factions frustrating humanitarian efforts
Foreign policy and security analyst Adib Saani told DW from Accra, Ghana, that the UN's best efforts to address the humanitarian crisis are futile in such a chaotic environment, blaming both the Tigrayan forces and the federal government for hampering their work.
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"The UN and other agencies have tried the best they can, but they have come under the line of fire from both the fighters and of course the government," he said.
Saani said attacks from both sides of the ongoing conflict is, "making it extremely difficult for them to be able to do their work and for relief to reach those who need it most."
Ethiopia: Tigray crisis one year on
The yearlong war shows no sign of abating, with both sides blaming each other for the deepening humanitarian crisis.
Image: AP Photo/picture alliance
A city burns
Residents of Tigray's capital Mekele sift through wreckage following an airstrike by government forces on October 20. The military said it was targeting a weapons manufacturing facility operated by the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which the rebel Tigray forces have denied.
Image: AP Photo/picture alliance
The haze of war
Smoke from a recent military airstrike billows above the streets of Mekele. Tigrayan fighters have accused the government of killing civilians, while the federal government maintains it is targeting arms depots. Locals have confirmed that at least one major industrial compound in Mekele has been destroyed.
Image: Million Haileselassie/DW
Captured troops
Ethiopian government soliders captured by Tigrayan forces sit in rows and wait to be taken to a detention center on October 22. The soldiers were paraded through the streets of Mekele in open-top trucks in a show of force following the fourth day of airstrikes on the capital.
Image: picture alliance/AP
Help on the way
An Ethiopian Red Cross Society vehicle makes its way through Mekele following government airstrikes. The Red Cross has been working to provide medical treatment and basic shelter in the Tigray region. Amid a regional telecommunications blackout, the organization is also key to helping reconnect families separated by the conflict.
Image: Million Haileselassie/DW
Rare aid
A cargo plane from the aid organization Samaritan's Purse unloads supplies at Mekele Airport back in March. The flow of humanitarian aid into Tigray has since been severely disrupted, with roadblocks on key routes stopping convoys from getting through and airstrikes forcing aid flights to be aborted.
Image: AA/picture alliance
A desperate plea
Heath workers stage a protest outside the United Nations office in Mekele, condemning the deaths of patients due to severe shortages of food and medicine. Stocks of vital supplies are dwindling in the capital, with malnutrition rates among children skyrocketing. The UN recently announced it would withdraw half of its workers from Ethiopia.
Image: Million Haileselassie /DW
A victim of war
A victim of the Togoga airstrike is treated in hospital. On June 22, the Ethiopian Air Force launched an airstrike on the Tigrayan town of Togoga on a busy market day, killing 64 civilians and injuring 184. Ambulances attempting to reach the scene were initially blocked by soldiers before another convoy made it through and brought 25 of the wounded to a hospital in Mekele.
Image: Million Haileselassie/DW
International protests
On the other side of the world, hundreds rallied in Whitehall, London on October 19 bearing flags and slogans as they called for an end to the violence and to the aid blockade in Tigray. Many of the protesters are members of the Tigrayan, Ethiopian and Eritrean diaspora.
Image: Tayfun Salci/picture alliance/ZUMAPRESS
Anger on both sides
Demonstrators in the capital Addis Ababa gathered outside the office of the UN World Food Program in September to protest the sending of aid to the Tigray region. The TPLF has been designated a terrorist group by Ethiopia's government. Officials and rights groups have also accused Tigrayan fighters of committing atrocities, including recruiting child soldiers.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed since November 2020, with more than 2 million people now displaced, according to the UN. Observers have accused both sides of committing human rights abuses.
Saani believes ordinary Ethiopians have borne the brunt of the violence and are now unfairly paying the price.
"What is happening in [Ethiopia] is a humanitarian crisis," he stressed. "There are a lot of refugees who have fled from the fighting [and are] living in displacement camps both in and outside of Ethiopia with no access to food, healthcare, water and even sanitation."
Aid delivery in Ethiopia's northern region has been hampered by ongoing fighting and road closuresImage: Alemenew Mekonnen/DW
Global efforts to end conflict continue
The international community has continued to condemn the crisis, with US State Department spokesperson Ned Price saying that the humanitarian catastrophe in Ethiopia's north remains an "absolute priority" for the US, while repeating calls for the warring parties to engage in peaceful dialogue.
"On the one hand we are encouraging, but also on the other hand we do have a set of sticks," said Price, referring to the potential use of sanctions.
Saani said major powers, including the US and Germany among others, must put more pressure on both the Ethiopian federal government and Tigray forces if a cease-fire is to be achieved. Still, he noted that strings being pulled behind the scenes are further complicating the conflict.
"The only way out is a concerted international effort led by world powers," he said, "Because it appears all parties in the conflict are getting support from other players outside of Ethiopia."
