Situation in Tigray (per 24 February)

  • A new cycle of food distribution which started in December 2022 has reached only 16% of intended recipients in Tigray, states the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in its Ethiopia Situation Report.
  • Main challenges are “due to fluid population movements, high number of displaced people, unreachability of certain areas, and lack of documentation among affected populations, among others, causing delays in food distribution in some locations.”
  • Partners are working to rebuild food distribution points destroyed in the war.
  • Telecom has resumed in nearly all towns, except for border towns including Fatsi, Zalambesa, Dowhan, Rama, Chila and Grehu Sirnay.
  • Half the gas stations in Mekelle have resumed service. Banking services have restarted in major towns.
  • Consumer prices in Tigray are stabilising as commercial trucks can enter the region.
  • Unexploded ordinances have caused three deaths and several injuries in the Adihageray and Egela Woreda.
  • A statement by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on IDP returnees to Afar stated that there is a ban on the transport of basic consumer goods, including fuel, to the Tigray region through zone two of the Afar region and that the restriction of transport via zone four has not been lifted.

Situation in Ethiopia (per 24 February)

  • Drought-induced hunger is reportedly causing human fatalities in the Borena zone of the Oromia region of Ethiopia, according to DW Amharic.
  • Malicha Mole, a resident of Teltele district, Borena zone, told DW Amharic “People have reached their final stage of hunger and started dying. I have already started participating in mourning ceremonies for the deceased.”
  • Malicha also said, “the drought which is entering its fifth month has killed both my cattle and prevented me from planting crops.”
  • UN OCHA reports that displacement in the Amhara region has reached a new high. 169,686 people are displaced in four areasof the Oromia Special Zone (Wello) and 213,000 in five areas of North Shewa Zone.
  • Intercommunal fighting is jeopardising the safety of the safety of IDPs in the Jara IDP site in North Wello Zone, where more people continue to arrive. Humanitarian assistance needs to be scaled up and alternative sites provided, states OCHA.
  • 27.000 IDPs from Afar and Benishangul Gumuz are in need of return support, and when returned, they need shelter and basic services, states OCHA.
  • IDPs who remain within camps in Benishangul Gumuz and the host communities struggle with a lack of water due to the dry season and unsustainable water transport by trucks.
  • OCHA warns that severe acute malnutrition cases have increased in drought-affected areas of Ethiopia in 2022, particularly in Oromia, where the cases have increased by 76% from the same time last year.
  • 83,000 people, mostly women, children and elderly, have arrived in the Ethiopian Somali region from neighbouring Laascaanood, Somaliland, in Somalia. They are in a “dire situation” and need immediate aid and protection services.
  • Ethiopia reportedly earned over 400 million USD from horticultural exports in the first seven months of its fiscal year, according to Mekonen Solomon, horticulture export coordinator at the Ministry of Agriculture. This is an increase of 20% compared to the previous year.

Regional Situation (per 24 February)

  • Isha Dyfan, the UN Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Somalia, denounces the “high death toll” in the conflict in the Laascaanood in the Somaliland region of Somalia.
  • She said: “we deplore the killing of at least 63 people and more than 363 injured,” and she warned these attacks violate international human rights law and humanitarian law.
  • She called on the Somali authorities to undertake impartial, effective, and independent investigations to hold the responsible accountable.
  • The US Embassy called for an “immediate” unconditional cease-fire in Laascaanood of Somalia.
  • The Embassy made these remarks after Chargé d’Affaires Tim Trenkle held discussions with Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi and also with political and civil society organisations in Hargeisa, Capital of the region.
  • The US embassy stated on Twitter: “Frank discussions this morning with #Somaliland President about the tragic loss of lives and violence in Lascanood. The United States joins the international community in calling for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access.”

International Situation (per 24 February)

  • The UN General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution calling for Russia to end hostilities in Ukraine and demanding the withdrawal of its forces from the country.
  • Eritrea was one of the six states that voted against the resolution in favour of Russia.
  • Kenneth Roth, a former long-time executive director of Human Rights Watch, said “Russia’s isolation is underscored by the mere handful of highly abusive governments that joined it to oppose the UN General Assembly repudiation of its invasion: only Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua & Syria. Not even China, which abstained.”

Links of interest

Ethiopia situation report – OCHA

News: Ethiopian Rights Commission says restrictions on the free movement of people, and trade impede recovery efforts of IDP returnees in Afar region

Drought conditions in southern Ethiopia causing human fatalities: Report

Ethiopia earns over 400 million usd from horticulture export in 7 months

Somalia: UN expert deplores high death toll in Laas Canood clashes

US calls for ‘immediate’ cease-fire in Somalia’s Lasanod town

Ukraine war: UN condemns Russian invasion ahead of anniversary

Twitter: Kenneth Roth

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