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The European Union has urged Ethiopia’s government to lift restrictions on fuel supplies to the war-wracked Tigray region. Fuel shortages are crippling the distribution of emergency aid. The 19-month conflict between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and Tigrayan rebels has driven hundreds of thousands of people to the brink of famine and left more than nine million in need of food aid, according to the United Nations
The European Union has urged Ethiopia’s government to lift restrictions on fuel supplies to the war-wracked Tigray region. Fuel shortages are crippling the distribution of emergency aid. The 19-month conflict between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and Tigrayan rebels has driven hundreds of thousands of people to the brink of famine and left more than nine million in need of food aid, according to the United Nations.
Now aid convoys have slowly made their way to Tigray for the first time since mid-December after the warring groups entered into a truce. But fuel shortages due to government restrictions have severely limited access to life-saving supplies. EU representatives maintain that the aid warehouses are fully packed up. Once the obstacles are removed, they can reach the destinations earmarked for delivering supplies.
More fuel is needed because without it, even this food assistance that comes to Mekele cannot reach rural areas. The conflict has driven a wedge between Ethiopia and Western nations. The United States terminated a preferential trading status for its long-time ally.
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The European Union has been postponing some 90 million euros ( US$110 million) in aid to Ethiopia over its failure to grant full humanitarian access to Tigray. Last week, Abiy said he was open to the possibility of peace negotiations with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
