Government documents reveal that Eritrean soldiers are blocking and looting food aid in Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to Tigray in November to arrest and disarm leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the regional ruling party that once dominated national politics.
He said the move came in response to TPLF attacks on army camps and that the fighting would soon be over.
But as the war draws to a close, world leaders are increasingly concerned about what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday called an imminent humanitarian “disaster” – and the role that Eritrean troops are playing in exacerbating it.
These concerns have been repeated in several presentations to aid groups this month by the Emergency Coordination Center of Tigray’s Abiy-appointed interim government – copies of which AFP has reviewed.
The latest presentation, dated April 23, says that Eritrean soldiers forced food aid workers from several parts of Tigray, including the Samre and Gijet areas south of the regional capital Mekele.
It is written in broken English that Eritrean soldiers have also started showing up at food distribution points in Tigray and looting supplies after “our beneficiaries became frightened and (ran away).”
An official who attended the presentation on April 23 and who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said aid workers were visibly frustrated by their inability to access parts of the region.
“Some of the NGOs were crying because of the systemic denial … some of them were screaming and crying,” the official said, adding that authorities coordinating relief efforts were also tired.
Checkpoints blocked
Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel denied the allegations on Tuesday.
“There is no way Eritrea can block or plunder humanitarian aid,” he told AFP in an email.
General Yohannes Gebremeskel Tesfamariam, head of a command post in Tigray, told AFP on Tuesday that during the past two weeks we had access problems to cope with some of the checkpoints, especially controlled by the Eritreans.
He referred to a critical checkpoint that linked the cities of Adigrat and Axum as an example.
“We have sent our staff to talk to the Eritrean commanders who command these troops at the checkpoint. We are waiting to hear the response,” Yohannes said.
Mulu Nega, head of Tigray’s interim government, told AFP on Tuesday that “people are complaining about the roads and the food distribution” and said his officials were investigating.
The fighting in Tigray disrupted the harvest in a region that was already food insecure.
The Abiy government said in mid-April that no one had died of starvation during the war.
