The European Commission and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) jointly called on Thursday 10 June for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access to Tigray, Ethiopia, stressing that “using starvation of civilians as a weapon of war is putting at risk the lives of millions” (see EUROPE 12720/25).
“We have continuously called for an end to the violence and for unfettered humanitarian access to all parts of Tigray, but we are witnessing increasing restrictions”, the partners said in a joint statement issued on Thursday evening at the end of a virtual roundtable discussion they held on the deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation in Tigray.
Adding, “Seven months into the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, human rights atrocities and the full-blown humanitarian crisis are alarming, currently pushing 400,000 innocent people to the brink of famine and loss of life. This situation must be addressed immediately. We must remember the 1980s famine in Ethiopia, which led to an estimated one million deaths, many as a result of food assistance being blocked.
See the statement: https://bit.ly/3gp1Jfu (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)