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Famine in northern Ethiopia (2020–present)

January 01, 1970

"Tigray famine" redirects here. For the 20th-century famine, see 1958 Tigray famine.

Beginning with the onset of the Tigray War in November 2020, acute food shortages leading to death and starvation became widespread in northern Ethiopia, and the Tigray, Afar and Amhara Regions in particular. As of August 2022, there are 13 million people facing acute food insecurity, and an estimated 150,000–200,000 had died of starvation by March 2022. In the Tigray Region alone, 89% of people are in need of food aid, with those facing severe hunger reaching up to 47%.[5][1] In a report published in June 2021, over 350,000 people were already experiencing catastrophic famine conditions (IPC Phase 5).[6][7] It is the worst famine to happen in East Africa since 2011–2012.[7]

Famine in northern Ethiopia
May 2021 map of people in need of humanitarian assistance that received food aid in the Tigray Region.
CountryEthiopia
LocationTigray Region, Amhara Region, Afar Region
Periodc. November 2020 – present
Total deaths150,000–200,000+[1]
Death rate50–100 people per day (April 2021)[2]
437-914 people per day (per Ghent University Oct 2022)[3]
Causescivil war, drought, inflation, locust swarms[4]
Relief$1.3 billion (58% funded)[4]
Consequences13,000,000 in need of food aid[5]

The main reasons for the famine are the Tigray War, which caused mass displacement and loss of harvests, in addition to then-ongoing locust infestations in the region. As reported by The Economist, the federal Ethiopian government was "deliberately holding back food in an effort to starve" the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF);[8] a claim disputed by the Ethiopian government in late January.[8] On 10 February 2021, Abera Tola, head of Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS), described displaced people "reach[ing] camps in Tigrayan towns [being] 'emaciated'" and that "their skin [was] really on their bones." He estimated that "eighty percent" of Tigray was unreachable by humanitarian assistance.[9] In early February 2021, Muferiat Kamil, Ethiopian Minister of Peace, agreed with World Food Programme representatives to allow increased food distribution in Tigray Region.[9] While the situation improved after the March 2022 truce and allowed for humanitarian distribution of food, the lack of rain in the spring of 2022 compounded the already existing food insecurity.[10] The resurgence of fighting after the ceasefire collapsed in August 2022 exacerbated the situation even more; by October, between 400 and 900 a day were dying of starvation.[3]

Impact edit

 
USAID food aid, high energy biscuits in Tigray
 
IDP camp of people who had fled starvation in Soqota, Amhara Region (May 2022)

In an 8 January meeting of the Tigray Emergency Coordination Center between international aid groups and Transitional Government of Tigray officials in Mekelle, capital of Tigray Region, a regional administrator, Berhane Gebretsadik, estimated that "hundreds of thousands" were at risk of starvation if food aid wasn't increased, and that in Adwa, people were "dying while they [were] sleeping".[11]

A federal official claimed that there was "no starvation in Ethiopia" on 19 January 2021, according to The Economist.[8]

On 22 January 2021, The Economist described estimates by Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) as Tigray being "probably one step from famine" and quoted a "Western diplomat" estimating, "We could have a million dead there in a couple of months".[12]

In early February 2021, the FEWS NET classified the level of starvation in Tigray Region under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) criteria as "Emergency (Phase 4)" in the central areas and as "Crisis (Phase 3)" in the rest of Tigray Region apart from Western Tigray. FEWS NET saw the armed conflict and access constraints, low levels of economic activity and income-earning, and "significant disruption to market activity" as being key factors for phase 4 level acute food security to continue in central and eastern Tigray through to May 2021.[13]

According to Human Rights Concern Eritrea (HRCE), prior to the Eritrean refugees in the Shimelba and Hitsats refugee camps being forced to return to Eritrea, they were so hungry that they were "forced to eat grass and roots".[14]

On 10 February 2021, Abera Tola, head of Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS), stated,

Displaced civilians who have managed to reach camps in Tigrayan towns are 'emaciated'. You see their skin is really on their bones. You don't see any food in their body.[9]

Abraha Desta, head of the opposition political party Arena Tigray and head of the Bureau of Social Affairs of the Transitional Government of Tigray, stated that "eighty percent" of Tigray was unreachable for humanitarian assistance. He predicted that the number of deaths by starvation could mount to "tens of thousands" within two months.[9]

 
UNICEF employee examines a woman in Tigray for symptoms of malnutrition, July 2021

On 2 July 2021, the United Nations Security Council discussed the issue and told that more than 400,000 people were being affected by food insecurity and that 33,000 children were severely malnourished. The report also stated that 1.8 million people were on the brink of famine.[15]

By September 2022, UNICEF reported that around 29.7 million people in Ethiopia were in need of humanitarian assistance.[16]

Death counts edit

Transitional government of Tigray edit

Abraha stated on 25 January 2021 that reports had been received of 10 people who had died from starvation in Gulomahda woreda, which in the 2007 census had 84,236 inhabitants; and 3 starvation deaths in Adwa, which had 40,500 residents in the 2007 census.[17][18] The mortality rate for a phase 5 famine is 2 deaths per 10,000 inhabitants per day.[19]

In June 2021, a Tigray regional health official stated that the district administrator of Mai Kinetal in Indafelasi, Berhe Desta Gebremariam, had reported 125 deaths by starvation, describing people as "falling like leaves", as well 315 other deaths, 558 people who had been victims of sexual violence, and the looting of 5,000 homes.[20]

On 16 November 2021, Dr Hagos Godefay, the former head of the health bureau in the pre-conflict Tigrayan government, announced that research had confirmed that at least 186 children under the age of 5 had died in Tigray due to starvation between late June and October 2021.[21]

United Nations OCHA edit

On 15 April 2021, Mark Lowcock of OCHA said that four internally displaced people in Tigray Region were known to have died of hunger that week, and 150 people had died of hunger in Ofla, Tigray.[22]

On 16 June 2022, the specialised digital service of OCHA, ReliefWeb, released a statement on the famine situation affecting the entirety of the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia. The statement announced that 'one person is likely dying from hunger every 48 seconds in the region.[23]

Other estimates edit

On 14 October 2021, Jan Nyssen of Ghent University estimated that from 425 to 1201 people were dying of starvation per day in Tigray Region.[24]

Causes edit

See also: 2022–2023 food crises

Civil society edit

On 8 February 2021, the boards of the Tigrai Development Association (TDA) and the Relief Society of Tigray (REST), two local NGOs trusted by Tigrayans, were dissolved by federal authorities.[25]

Economic edit

 
Woman tries to sell tomatoes and onions on an almost empty market in Hawzen on 6 June 2021

Ethiopia had an average inflation rate of 26% in 2021 and 30% in 2022, something that was largely driven by a rise in food prices;[26] in February 2023, the overall inflation rate reached 32%,[27] and Ethiopia continued to experience high inflation by September 2023, with commonly purchased food items becoming more expensive.[28]

Environmental edit

Drought edit

This section is an excerpt from Horn of Africa drought (2020–present).[edit]
 
The 2020–present Horn of Africa drought is an ongoing drought that hit the countries of Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. The rainy season of 2022 was recorded to be the driest in over 40 years,[29][30] with an estimated 43,000 in Somalia dying in 2022.[31][32] As of 2023, the region is now in its 5th failed rainy season[33] and a 6th failed season is predicted.[34]

Locust swarms edit

This section is an excerpt from 2019–2022 locust infestation.[edit]

Between June 2019 and February 2022, a major outbreak of desert locusts began developing, threatening food supplies in East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent. The outbreak was the worst to hit Kenya in 70 years, and the worst in 25 years for Ethiopia, Somalia, and India.[35][36]

The locust infestations began when Cyclone Mekunu in 2018 produced heavy rains in the Rub' al Khali of the Arabian Peninsula;[37] in spring 2019, swarms spread from these areas, and by June 2019, the locusts spread north to Iran, Pakistan, and India and south to East Africa, particularly the Horn of Africa.[37] By the end of 2019, there were swarms in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Oman, Iran, India, and Pakistan.[38] By June 2020, a separate swarm appeared in South America, affecting Paraguay and Argentina.[39]

In April 2020, travel and shipping restrictions precipitated by the spread of COVID-19 began to hamper efforts to control the locusts, preventing the transport of pesticides, equipment, and personnel, and contributing to the global incidence of COVID-19 related food insecurity.[40]

Locust swarms worldwide faced a steady decline in size from May to October 2020, as countries and intergovernmental organisations instituted extensive aerial and ground pest control efforts, aided by low quantities of rainfall in several affected regions, as well as the absence of storm activity in the Indian Ocean. By October 2020, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Yemen continued to harbour significant swarms of locusts, with the remainder situated in isolated pockets of Kenya, Sudan and Saudi Arabia. Locust swarms continued to threaten countries around the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as their immediate neighbours, until February 2022 when the surge was officially declared to be over.[36][41][42]

Looting and removal of basic services edit

All parties to the conflict have been accused by USAID of looting aid shipments.[43]

Looting by the TPLF/TDF edit

On 31 August 2021, USAID's mission director in Ethiopia, Sean Jones said: "We do have proof that several of our warehouses have been looted and completely emptied in the areas, particularly in Amhara, where TPLF soldiers have gone into, I do believe that the TPLF has been very opportunistic," in a televised interview with state broadcaster EBC in Addis Ababa.[43][44] On 25 August 2022, the World Food Programme accused the TPLF of stealing 570,000 liters of fuel meant to transport humanitarian aid.[45][46]

In March 2022, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission stated that the TDF had "carried out widespread and organized pillaging, looting and destruction of government administration facilities, public service facilities" in the Afar and Amhara regions.[47]

Looting by federal Ethiopian, Eritrean and Amhara forces edit

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International described Tigrayans being targeted with impunity, both by military and civilian groups:

Federal and allied forces looted Tigrayan homes, businesses, livestock, and crops as they took over towns and villages. Amhara Special Forces, Fano militias, and Eritrean military forces — when they were present — carried out the bulk of the looting, but groups in civilian clothes, some armed, others not, later joined them. […] Two interviewees said they saw security force members loot homes and businesses, selectively targeting Tigrayan property.[48]

 
IDP camp in Axum, Tigray Region (June 2021)

Anti-Tigrayan forces engaged in what HRW and Amnesty described as "pillag[ing]", with "schools, courts, churches, and health centers", in addition to civilian houses, being subject to looting.[49] Amhara and Eritrean forces also took harvests, livestock and medicine from Tigrayan farmers, who were threatened with violence if they did not comply; these actions caused the looted areas to face "extreme starvation" by June 2021.[50] Multiple witnesses, from separate villages, gave similar descriptions of Amhara militias and security forces "waiting for farmers to collect or harvest [sorghum crops] before stealing [them]."[51] A witness to the Axum massacre stated that the EDF "burned crops […] forced farmers and priests to slaughter their own animals […] stole medicine from health facilities and destroyed the infrastructure."[52] Reports of Eritrean looting continued into late 2022, with allegations that the EDF was seizing food and other materials from Tigrayan homes,[53][54][55] in violation of the November 2022 peace agreement.[56]

Role of international weapons sales edit

An investigation revealed in November 2021 that the UAE opened an air bridge to provide extensive military support to the Ethiopian government, which has killed tens of thousands of civilians and displaced millions. More than 90 flights were operated between Sweihan Base, Abu Dhabi, and Harar Meda Base, south of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, between September and October 2021. The UAE took support of two private shipping companies, including one Spanish and one Ethiopian firm, to carry out this extensive operation. The satellite images also showed a Chinese-made Wing Loong drone at the Ethiopian airport.[57]

On 27 November 2021, The Economist reported that Turkey, Iran, Israel and the UAE were all selling weapons to Ethiopia, while relations soured between the US and Ethiopia. The UAE was accused of flying drones. The Emirates had also pledged billions in aid. The help from such autocratic powers escalated the war in Tigray, causing humanitarian crisis for tens of millions of Ethiopians.[58]

Food aid distribution edit

 
Distribution of USAID food aid, wheat, in Tigray

On 25 January 2021, Abraha Desta stated that many people were displaced after having their property looted and that food was available, but there was a distribution problem, since drivers were afraid. He stated that foreign aid organisations were unable to leave the capital Mekelle due to security concerns for convoys. He described the situation as "'unprecedented in its history', and that 4.5 million people were in need of emergency food assistance".[17] The Economist described the access blocks as including the initial federal government authorisation, authorisations from neighbouring regional governments, and blocks by local armed forces "citing security" or fears about food being provided to the TPLF.[8]

Muferiat Kamil, Ethiopian Minister of Peace, agreed with World Food Programme representatives to "scale up" food distribution in Tigray Region, authorising 25 international staff for access, while another 49 awaited approval.[9] On 12 February, a total of 53 international staff of United Nations agencies and NGOs had received approval to enter Tigray Region.[59]

Blockade of aid deliveries edit

 
Internally displaced people in Shire, Tigray (April 2021)

On 1 February 2021, Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, stated that "twelve weeks since the start of conflict in [Tigray Region], meaningful humanitarian operations [had] still not begun", with aid organisations unable to access much of the region, especially away from Mekelle and major roads, and with administrative delays and unpredictability in obtaining authorisations for access. Egeland stated that he had "rarely seen a humanitarian response so impeded and unable to deliver in response for so long, to so many with such pressing needs."[60] By 15 April 2021, humanitarian aid distribution continued to be blocked on several of the main roads by the Eritrean Defence Forces, and by Amhara Region security forces.[22]

The government of the Amhara-occupied Western Zone did little to help the local Tigrayan population, and in a number of cases, actively participated in marginalizing and discriminating against them. A 2022 HRW–Amnesty report described them as "complicit in the theft of Tigrayan property".[61] The authorities placed restrictions on their ability to harvest food, and denied them access to international aid.[62][63] Ethiopian troops had reportedly withheld food from going to Tigrayan civilians who were suspected of having links to Tigrayan fighters. A student based in Europe, and in contact with her family in Tigray Region, said in February 2021 that in the Irob woreda where her family lives, "If you don't bring your father, your brothers, you don't get the aid, you'll starve."[64]

 
Food distribution partners in Tigray on 31 May 2021

On 30 September 2021, following a UN statement about the federal Ethiopian blockade against deliveries of food aid to Tigray, the federal government expelled seven senior United Nations (UN) officials. The federal Ethiopian authorities accused the UN officials of "meddling" in Ethiopian "internal affairs". The officials were given 72 hours to leave Ethiopia.[65][66] On 4 November 2021, researcher Alex de Waal called for UN organisations to negotiate the shipping of food aid into Tigray Region directly with the Tigrayan government, the Oromo Liberation Army "and whoever controls territory and people", overriding the political control of the federal Ethiopian authorities if necessary.[67]

By the summer of 2022, the government blockade of essential services to Tigray was still in place, and the humanitarian situation remained severe, with roughly 13 million people being in need of food aid.[68] According to the World Food Programme, while international aid had technically been allowed into the region during the 2022 ceasefire, in practice, very little aid was reaching the people that needed it most, largely due to fuel not being made available in this area.[69][70]

In March 2023, the U.N and American authorities paused food aid to 1/6th of Ethiopia's population over massive thefts of the aid supplied to the country. This ban was extended in June 2023, after showing no improvements. At least 700 starvation-related deaths were recorded in the ban period between March and June 2023.[71]

Claims of intentional starvation by federal Ethiopian-allied forces edit

See also: War crimes in the Tigray War § Looting and deliberate starvation

Alex de Waal argued in December 2020 that the looting by the EDF of cars, generators, food stores, cattle, sheep and goats in Tigray Region was a violation of international criminal law that "prohibits a belligerent from removing, destroying or rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population" (Rome Statute, Article 7, 2.(b)).[72]

On 22 January 2021, The Economist claimed that it was "likely that the authorities [were] deliberately holding back food in an effort to starve the rebels out." The burning of crops and abandonment of fields prior to harvest time were listed by The Economist as causative factors of starvation.[8]

In early April 2021, the World Peace Foundation published a report in which it listed Article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, "Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions" and Articles 270(i) and 273 of the 2004 Ethiopian Penal Code as appropriate criminal laws in relation to starvation in the Tigray War. Section 4 of the report listed evidence. The authors concluded that the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments were responsible for starvation, and that "circumstantial evidence suggest[ed] that [the starvation was] intentional, systematic and widespread."[73]

In early October 2021, Mark Lowcock, who led OCHA during part of the Tigray War, stated that the Ethiopian federal government was deliberately starving Tigray, "running a sophisticated campaign to stop aid getting in" and that there was "not just an attempt to starve six million people but an attempt to cover up what's going on."[74]

In November 2021 in Human Geography, Teklehaymanot G. Weldemichel argued that "famine [in Tigray Region] was from the start an end goal of the Ethiopian and Eritrean" governments. Teklehaymanot listed key tactics that he saw as inducing a famine to include the systematic looting and destruction of infrastructure; banking measures that blocked access to cash; and a siege obstructing humanitarian aid.[75]

In its September 2022 report, the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) "found reasonable grounds to believe that the Federal Government [of Ethiopia] was using starvation as a method of warfare" in the Tigray Region. They also stated that the Ethiopian government, along with forces allied with them, engaged in deliberate efforts to deny Tigray "access to basic services […] and humanitarian assistance," leaving 90% of Tigrayan residents in dire conditions.[76] It called on both the federal government and the TPLF to let these services resume without hindrance.[77]

In June 2023, the Lowenstein Human Rights Clinic of Yale Law School, in a summary of its 18-month study mostly based on public reports, stated that the Ethiopian federal government and its allies had extensively looted and attacked and blocked supplies of food, water, healthcare, electricity, cash, fuel, and humanitarian relief in Tigray during the war.[78] The Lowenstein report stated that the government and its allies had, by these actions, used starvation as a method of combat, in violation of international humanitarian law, and further called for investigations to determine if these actions constituted war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.[79]

Effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine edit

Main article: Russian invasion of Ukraine
Further information: Black Sea Grain Initiative, Grain From Ukraine program, and Ethiopia–Russia relations
 
Bags of wheat from Ukraine sent to Ethiopia, March 2023

In 2020, Russia and Ukraine accounted for a combined total of 81% of Ethiopia's wheat imports (66% being imported from the former and 15% from the latter);[80] in June 2022, roughly 42% of Ethiopia's grain was imported from these two countries (15% from Russia and 27% from Ukraine).[81] The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 exacerbated the already existing food crisis in the country, as it disrupted supply chains and caused food prices to significantly increase.[82]

Ukraine continued to send food aid to Ethiopia even after being invaded;[83][84] this included a 50,000 tonne shipment of grain to the Horn of Africa region, wherein Ukraine (with support from Germany and France) reimbursed money to Ethiopia and Somalia for the cost of shipping.[85] On 17 November 2022, Ukraine sent another 27,000 tonnes of wheat to Ethiopia.[86]

On 30 October 2022, as part of Black Sea Grain Initiative, a shipment of 40,000 tonnes in grain was originally scheduled to leave a Ukrainian port bound for Ethiopia. Russia suspended its participation from the deal a day before the ship's intended departure, citing a drone attack in Crimea.[87] Russia had previously launched missile strikes on Odesa on 2 May and 23 July 2022, damaging infrastructure needed for either the production or shipment of grain.[88][89]

Classification edit

On 7 February 2021, Tufts University researcher Alex de Waal argued that the information blackout from the Tigray Region should not be used to "quibble" over the formal classification of the type of starvation in terms of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)[90] of acute food security, in which the severest classifications are "crisis (phase 3)", "emergency (phase 4)" and "famine (phase 5)".[19] De Waal said that 380,000 people had died of "hunger and violence" during the South Sudanese Civil War, among which only 1% had died in areas classified as being under "famine (phase 5)".[91]

See also edit

References edit

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Bibliography edit

  • (PDF). Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic. Yale Law School. June 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2023.
  • . Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. AFR 25/5444/2022. 6 April 2022. ISBN 9781623139759. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023.

Further reading edit

  • Nyssen, Jan; Negash, Emnet; Van Schaeybroeck, Bert; Haegeman, Kiara; Annys, Sofie (4 July 2023). "Crop Cultivation at Wartime – Plight and Resilience of Tigray's Agrarian Society (North Ethiopia)". Defence and Peace Economics. 34 (5): 618–645. doi:10.1080/10242694.2022.2066420. ISSN 1024-2694. S2CID 248537370.
  • Weldemichel, Teklehaymanot G. (18 November 2021). "Inventing hell: how the Ethiopian and Eritrean regimes produced famine in Tigray". Human Geography. 15 (3): 290–294. doi:10.1177/19427786211061431. S2CID 244412611.
  • Weldemariam, Lemlem Fitwi; Sakdapolrak, Patrick; Erdkunde, Ayansina Ayanlade (27 November 2022). "The impact of migration on food security in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: The role of migration patterns and remittances". Erdkunde. 76 (4). University of Bonn: 271–288. doi:10.3112/erdkunde.2022.04.03. eISSN 2702-5985.

January 01, 1970
famine, northern, ethiopia, 2020, present, tigray, famine, redirects, here, 20th, century, famine, 1958, tigray, famine, beginning, with, onset, tigray, november, 2020, acute, food, shortages, leading, death, starvation, became, widespread, northern, ethiopia,. Tigray famine redirects here For the 20th century famine see 1958 Tigray famine Beginning with the onset of the Tigray War in November 2020 acute food shortages leading to death and starvation became widespread in northern Ethiopia and the Tigray Afar and Amhara Regions in particular As of August 2022 update there are 13 million people facing acute food insecurity and an estimated 150 000 200 000 had died of starvation by March 2022 In the Tigray Region alone 89 of people are in need of food aid with those facing severe hunger reaching up to 47 5 1 In a report published in June 2021 over 350 000 people were already experiencing catastrophic famine conditions IPC Phase 5 6 7 It is the worst famine to happen in East Africa since 2011 2012 7 Famine in northern EthiopiaMay 2021 map of people in need of humanitarian assistance that received food aid in the Tigray Region CountryEthiopiaLocationTigray Region Amhara Region Afar RegionPeriodc November 2020 presentTotal deaths150 000 200 000 1 Death rate50 100 people per day April 2021 2 437 914 people per day per Ghent University Oct 2022 3 Causescivil war drought inflation locust swarms 4 Relief 1 3 billion 58 funded 4 Consequences13 000 000 in need of food aid 5 The main reasons for the famine are the Tigray War which caused mass displacement and loss of harvests in addition to then ongoing locust infestations in the region As reported by The Economist the federal Ethiopian government was deliberately holding back food in an effort to starve the Tigray People s Liberation Front TPLF 8 a claim disputed by the Ethiopian government in late January 8 On 10 February 2021 Abera Tola head of Ethiopian Red Cross Society ERCS described displaced people reach ing camps in Tigrayan towns being emaciated and that their skin was really on their bones He estimated that eighty percent of Tigray was unreachable by humanitarian assistance 9 In early February 2021 Muferiat Kamil Ethiopian Minister of Peace agreed with World Food Programme representatives to allow increased food distribution in Tigray Region 9 While the situation improved after the March 2022 truce and allowed for humanitarian distribution of food the lack of rain in the spring of 2022 compounded the already existing food insecurity 10 The resurgence of fighting after the ceasefire collapsed in August 2022 exacerbated the situation even more by October between 400 and 900 a day were dying of starvation 3 Contents 1 Impact 1 1 Death counts 1 1 1 Transitional government of Tigray 1 1 2 United Nations OCHA 1 1 3 Other estimates 2 Causes 2 1 Civil society 2 2 Economic 2 3 Environmental 2 3 1 Drought 2 3 2 Locust swarms 2 4 Looting and removal of basic services 2 4 1 Looting by the TPLF TDF 2 4 2 Looting by federal Ethiopian Eritrean and Amhara forces 2 5 Role of international weapons sales 3 Food aid distribution 3 1 Blockade of aid deliveries 3 1 1 Claims of intentional starvation by federal Ethiopian allied forces 3 2 Effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine 4 Classification 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Bibliography 7 Further readingImpact edit nbsp USAID food aid high energy biscuits in Tigray nbsp IDP camp of people who had fled starvation in Soqota Amhara Region May 2022 In an 8 January meeting of the Tigray Emergency Coordination Center between international aid groups and Transitional Government of Tigray officials in Mekelle capital of Tigray Region a regional administrator Berhane Gebretsadik estimated that hundreds of thousands were at risk of starvation if food aid wasn t increased and that in Adwa people were dying while they were sleeping 11 A federal official claimed that there was no starvation in Ethiopia on 19 January 2021 according to The Economist 8 On 22 January 2021 The Economist described estimates by Famine Early Warning Systems Network FEWS NET as Tigray being probably one step from famine and quoted a Western diplomat estimating We could have a million dead there in a couple of months 12 In early February 2021 the FEWS NET classified the level of starvation in Tigray Region under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification IPC criteria as Emergency Phase 4 in the central areas and as Crisis Phase 3 in the rest of Tigray Region apart from Western Tigray FEWS NET saw the armed conflict and access constraints low levels of economic activity and income earning and significant disruption to market activity as being key factors for phase 4 level acute food security to continue in central and eastern Tigray through to May 2021 13 According to Human Rights Concern Eritrea HRCE prior to the Eritrean refugees in the Shimelba and Hitsats refugee camps being forced to return to Eritrea they were so hungry that they were forced to eat grass and roots 14 On 10 February 2021 Abera Tola head of Ethiopian Red Cross Society ERCS stated Displaced civilians who have managed to reach camps in Tigrayan towns are emaciated You see their skin is really on their bones You don t see any food in their body 9 Abraha Desta head of the opposition political party Arena Tigray and head of the Bureau of Social Affairs of the Transitional Government of Tigray stated that eighty percent of Tigray was unreachable for humanitarian assistance He predicted that the number of deaths by starvation could mount to tens of thousands within two months 9 nbsp UNICEF employee examines a woman in Tigray for symptoms of malnutrition July 2021 On 2 July 2021 the United Nations Security Council discussed the issue and told that more than 400 000 people were being affected by food insecurity and that 33 000 children were severely malnourished The report also stated that 1 8 million people were on the brink of famine 15 By September 2022 UNICEF reported that around 29 7 million people in Ethiopia were in need of humanitarian assistance 16 Death counts edit Transitional government of Tigray edit Abraha stated on 25 January 2021 that reports had been received of 10 people who had died from starvation in Gulomahda woreda which in the 2007 census had 84 236 inhabitants and 3 starvation deaths in Adwa which had 40 500 residents in the 2007 census 17 18 The mortality rate for a phase 5 famine is 2 deaths per 10 000 inhabitants per day 19 In June 2021 a Tigray regional health official stated that the district administrator of Mai Kinetal in Indafelasi Berhe Desta Gebremariam had reported 125 deaths by starvation describing people as falling like leaves as well 315 other deaths 558 people who had been victims of sexual violence and the looting of 5 000 homes 20 On 16 November 2021 Dr Hagos Godefay the former head of the health bureau in the pre conflict Tigrayan government announced that research had confirmed that at least 186 children under the age of 5 had died in Tigray due to starvation between late June and October 2021 21 United Nations OCHA edit On 15 April 2021 Mark Lowcock of OCHA said that four internally displaced people in Tigray Region were known to have died of hunger that week and 150 people had died of hunger in Ofla Tigray 22 On 16 June 2022 the specialised digital service of OCHA ReliefWeb released a statement on the famine situation affecting the entirety of the Horn of Africa including Ethiopia The statement announced that one person is likely dying from hunger every 48 seconds in the region 23 Other estimates edit On 14 October 2021 Jan Nyssen of Ghent University estimated that from 425 to 1201 people were dying of starvation per day in Tigray Region 24 Causes editSee also 2022 2023 food crises Civil society edit On 8 February 2021 the boards of the Tigrai Development Association TDA and the Relief Society of Tigray REST two local NGOs trusted by Tigrayans were dissolved by federal authorities 25 Economic edit nbsp Woman tries to sell tomatoes and onions on an almost empty market in Hawzen on 6 June 2021Ethiopia had an average inflation rate of 26 in 2021 and 30 in 2022 something that was largely driven by a rise in food prices 26 in February 2023 the overall inflation rate reached 32 27 and Ethiopia continued to experience high inflation by September 2023 with commonly purchased food items becoming more expensive 28 Environmental edit Drought edit This section is an excerpt from Horn of Africa drought 2020 present edit nbsp The 2020 present Horn of Africa drought is an ongoing drought that hit the countries of Somalia Ethiopia and Kenya The rainy season of 2022 was recorded to be the driest in over 40 years 29 30 with an estimated 43 000 in Somalia dying in 2022 31 32 As of 2023 update the region is now in its 5th failed rainy season 33 and a 6th failed season is predicted 34 Locust swarms edit This section is an excerpt from 2019 2022 locust infestation edit Between June 2019 and February 2022 a major outbreak of desert locusts began developing threatening food supplies in East Africa the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent The outbreak was the worst to hit Kenya in 70 years and the worst in 25 years for Ethiopia Somalia and India 35 36 The locust infestations began when Cyclone Mekunu in 2018 produced heavy rains in the Rub al Khali of the Arabian Peninsula 37 in spring 2019 swarms spread from these areas and by June 2019 the locusts spread north to Iran Pakistan and India and south to East Africa particularly the Horn of Africa 37 By the end of 2019 there were swarms in Ethiopia Eritrea Somalia Kenya Saudi Arabia Yemen Egypt Oman Iran India and Pakistan 38 By June 2020 a separate swarm appeared in South America affecting Paraguay and Argentina 39 In April 2020 travel and shipping restrictions precipitated by the spread of COVID 19 began to hamper efforts to control the locusts preventing the transport of pesticides equipment and personnel and contributing to the global incidence of COVID 19 related food insecurity 40 Locust swarms worldwide faced a steady decline in size from May to October 2020 as countries and intergovernmental organisations instituted extensive aerial and ground pest control efforts aided by low quantities of rainfall in several affected regions as well as the absence of storm activity in the Indian Ocean By October 2020 Ethiopia Eritrea Somalia and Yemen continued to harbour significant swarms of locusts with the remainder situated in isolated pockets of Kenya Sudan and Saudi Arabia Locust swarms continued to threaten countries around the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as well as their immediate neighbours until February 2022 when the surge was officially declared to be over 36 41 42 Looting and removal of basic services edit All parties to the conflict have been accused by USAID of looting aid shipments 43 Looting by the TPLF TDF edit On 31 August 2021 USAID s mission director in Ethiopia Sean Jones said We do have proof that several of our warehouses have been looted and completely emptied in the areas particularly in Amhara where TPLF soldiers have gone into I do believe that the TPLF has been very opportunistic in a televised interview with state broadcaster EBC in Addis Ababa 43 44 On 25 August 2022 the World Food Programme accused the TPLF of stealing 570 000 liters of fuel meant to transport humanitarian aid 45 46 In March 2022 the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission stated that the TDF had carried out widespread and organized pillaging looting and destruction of government administration facilities public service facilities in the Afar and Amhara regions 47 Looting by federal Ethiopian Eritrean and Amhara forces edit Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International described Tigrayans being targeted with impunity both by military and civilian groups Federal and allied forces looted Tigrayan homes businesses livestock and crops as they took over towns and villages Amhara Special Forces Fano militias and Eritrean military forces when they were present carried out the bulk of the looting but groups in civilian clothes some armed others not later joined them Two interviewees said they saw security force members loot homes and businesses selectively targeting Tigrayan property 48 nbsp IDP camp in Axum Tigray Region June 2021 Anti Tigrayan forces engaged in what HRW and Amnesty described as pillag ing with schools courts churches and health centers in addition to civilian houses being subject to looting 49 Amhara and Eritrean forces also took harvests livestock and medicine from Tigrayan farmers who were threatened with violence if they did not comply these actions caused the looted areas to face extreme starvation by June 2021 50 Multiple witnesses from separate villages gave similar descriptions of Amhara militias and security forces waiting for farmers to collect or harvest sorghum crops before stealing them 51 A witness to the Axum massacre stated that the EDF burned crops forced farmers and priests to slaughter their own animals stole medicine from health facilities and destroyed the infrastructure 52 Reports of Eritrean looting continued into late 2022 with allegations that the EDF was seizing food and other materials from Tigrayan homes 53 54 55 in violation of the November 2022 peace agreement 56 Role of international weapons sales edit An investigation revealed in November 2021 that the UAE opened an air bridge to provide extensive military support to the Ethiopian government which has killed tens of thousands of civilians and displaced millions More than 90 flights were operated between Sweihan Base Abu Dhabi and Harar Meda Base south of Ethiopia s capital Addis Ababa between September and October 2021 The UAE took support of two private shipping companies including one Spanish and one Ethiopian firm to carry out this extensive operation The satellite images also showed a Chinese made Wing Loong drone at the Ethiopian airport 57 On 27 November 2021 The Economist reported that Turkey Iran Israel and the UAE were all selling weapons to Ethiopia while relations soured between the US and Ethiopia The UAE was accused of flying drones The Emirates had also pledged billions in aid The help from such autocratic powers escalated the war in Tigray causing humanitarian crisis for tens of millions of Ethiopians 58 Food aid distribution edit nbsp Distribution of USAID food aid wheat in TigrayOn 25 January 2021 Abraha Desta stated that many people were displaced after having their property looted and that food was available but there was a distribution problem since drivers were afraid He stated that foreign aid organisations were unable to leave the capital Mekelle due to security concerns for convoys He described the situation as unprecedented in its history and that 4 5 million people were in need of emergency food assistance 17 The Economist described the access blocks as including the initial federal government authorisation authorisations from neighbouring regional governments and blocks by local armed forces citing security or fears about food being provided to the TPLF 8 Muferiat Kamil Ethiopian Minister of Peace agreed with World Food Programme representatives to scale up food distribution in Tigray Region authorising 25 international staff for access while another 49 awaited approval 9 On 12 February a total of 53 international staff of United Nations agencies and NGOs had received approval to enter Tigray Region 59 Blockade of aid deliveries edit nbsp Internally displaced people in Shire Tigray April 2021 On 1 February 2021 Jan Egeland head of the Norwegian Refugee Council stated that twelve weeks since the start of conflict in Tigray Region meaningful humanitarian operations had still not begun with aid organisations unable to access much of the region especially away from Mekelle and major roads and with administrative delays and unpredictability in obtaining authorisations for access Egeland stated that he had rarely seen a humanitarian response so impeded and unable to deliver in response for so long to so many with such pressing needs 60 By 15 April 2021 humanitarian aid distribution continued to be blocked on several of the main roads by the Eritrean Defence Forces and by Amhara Region security forces 22 The government of the Amhara occupied Western Zone did little to help the local Tigrayan population and in a number of cases actively participated in marginalizing and discriminating against them A 2022 HRW Amnesty report described them as complicit in the theft of Tigrayan property 61 The authorities placed restrictions on their ability to harvest food and denied them access to international aid 62 63 Ethiopian troops had reportedly withheld food from going to Tigrayan civilians who were suspected of having links to Tigrayan fighters A student based in Europe and in contact with her family in Tigray Region said in February 2021 that in the Irob woreda where her family lives If you don t bring your father your brothers you don t get the aid you ll starve 64 nbsp Food distribution partners in Tigray on 31 May 2021On 30 September 2021 following a UN statement about the federal Ethiopian blockade against deliveries of food aid to Tigray the federal government expelled seven senior United Nations UN officials The federal Ethiopian authorities accused the UN officials of meddling in Ethiopian internal affairs The officials were given 72 hours to leave Ethiopia 65 66 On 4 November 2021 researcher Alex de Waal called for UN organisations to negotiate the shipping of food aid into Tigray Region directly with the Tigrayan government the Oromo Liberation Army and whoever controls territory and people overriding the political control of the federal Ethiopian authorities if necessary 67 By the summer of 2022 the government blockade of essential services to Tigray was still in place and the humanitarian situation remained severe with roughly 13 million people being in need of food aid 68 According to the World Food Programme while international aid had technically been allowed into the region during the 2022 ceasefire in practice very little aid was reaching the people that needed it most largely due to fuel not being made available in this area 69 70 In March 2023 the U N and American authorities paused food aid to 1 6th of Ethiopia s population over massive thefts of the aid supplied to the country This ban was extended in June 2023 after showing no improvements At least 700 starvation related deaths were recorded in the ban period between March and June 2023 71 Claims of intentional starvation by federal Ethiopian allied forces edit See also War crimes in the Tigray War Looting and deliberate starvation Alex de Waal argued in December 2020 that the looting by the EDF of cars generators food stores cattle sheep and goats in Tigray Region was a violation of international criminal law that prohibits a belligerent from removing destroying or rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population Rome Statute Article 7 2 b 72 On 22 January 2021 The Economist claimed that it was likely that the authorities were deliberately holding back food in an effort to starve the rebels out The burning of crops and abandonment of fields prior to harvest time were listed by The Economist as causative factors of starvation 8 In early April 2021 the World Peace Foundation published a report in which it listed Article 8 2 b xxv of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival including wilfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions and Articles 270 i and 273 of the 2004 Ethiopian Penal Code as appropriate criminal laws in relation to starvation in the Tigray War Section 4 of the report listed evidence The authors concluded that the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments were responsible for starvation and that circumstantial evidence suggest ed that the starvation was intentional systematic and widespread 73 In early October 2021 Mark Lowcock who led OCHA during part of the Tigray War stated that the Ethiopian federal government was deliberately starving Tigray running a sophisticated campaign to stop aid getting in and that there was not just an attempt to starve six million people but an attempt to cover up what s going on 74 In November 2021 in Human Geography Teklehaymanot G Weldemichel argued that famine in Tigray Region was from the start an end goal of the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments Teklehaymanot listed key tactics that he saw as inducing a famine to include the systematic looting and destruction of infrastructure banking measures that blocked access to cash and a siege obstructing humanitarian aid 75 In its September 2022 report the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia ICHREE found reasonable grounds to believe that the Federal Government of Ethiopia was using starvation as a method of warfare in the Tigray Region They also stated that the Ethiopian government along with forces allied with them engaged in deliberate efforts to deny Tigray access to basic services and humanitarian assistance leaving 90 of Tigrayan residents in dire conditions 76 It called on both the federal government and the TPLF to let these services resume without hindrance 77 In June 2023 the Lowenstein Human Rights Clinic of Yale Law School in a summary of its 18 month study mostly based on public reports stated that the Ethiopian federal government and its allies had extensively looted and attacked and blocked supplies of food water healthcare electricity cash fuel and humanitarian relief in Tigray during the war 78 The Lowenstein report stated that the government and its allies had by these actions used starvation as a method of combat in violation of international humanitarian law and further called for investigations to determine if these actions constituted war crimes crimes against humanity or genocide 79 Effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine edit Main article Russian invasion of Ukraine Further information Black Sea Grain Initiative Grain From Ukraine program and Ethiopia Russia relations nbsp Bags of wheat from Ukraine sent to Ethiopia March 2023 In 2020 Russia and Ukraine accounted for a combined total of 81 of Ethiopia s wheat imports 66 being imported from the former and 15 from the latter 80 in June 2022 roughly 42 of Ethiopia s grain was imported from these two countries 15 from Russia and 27 from Ukraine 81 The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 exacerbated the already existing food crisis in the country as it disrupted supply chains and caused food prices to significantly increase 82 Ukraine continued to send food aid to Ethiopia even after being invaded 83 84 this included a 50 000 tonne shipment of grain to the Horn of Africa region wherein Ukraine with support from Germany and France reimbursed money to Ethiopia and Somalia for the cost of shipping 85 On 17 November 2022 Ukraine sent another 27 000 tonnes of wheat to Ethiopia 86 On 30 October 2022 as part of Black Sea Grain Initiative a shipment of 40 000 tonnes in grain was originally scheduled to leave a Ukrainian port bound for Ethiopia Russia suspended its participation from the deal a day before the ship s intended departure citing a drone attack in Crimea 87 Russia had previously launched missile strikes on Odesa on 2 May and 23 July 2022 damaging infrastructure needed for either the production or shipment of grain 88 89 Classification editOn 7 February 2021 Tufts University researcher Alex de Waal argued that the information blackout from the Tigray Region should not be used to quibble over the formal classification of the type of starvation in terms of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification IPC 90 of acute food security in which the severest classifications are crisis phase 3 emergency phase 4 and famine phase 5 19 De Waal said that 380 000 people had died of hunger and violence during the South Sudanese Civil War among which only 1 had died in areas classified as being under famine phase 5 91 See also edit1983 1985 famine in Ethiopia Famine in Yemen 2016 present 2021 Somali droughtReferences edit a b Tigray war has seen up to half a million dead from violence and starvation say researchers The Globe and Mail 14 March 2022 Tigray is edging closer to famine The Economist 22 April 2021 a b SITUATION REPORT HORN OF AFRICA No 295 21 October 2022 PDF EuropeExternal Programme with Africa 28 October 2022 a b Over 5 million people face extreme hunger as the Tigray conflict surges past six months Oxfam 10 May 2021 a b Paravicini Giulia 20 August 2022 Nearly half the people in Ethiopia s Tigray in severe need of food aid World Food Programme says Reuters Archived from the original on 11 October 2022 5 5 Million People in Tigray and Neighbouring Zones of Afar and Amhara Face High Levels of Acute Food Insecurity PDF Integrated Food Security Phase Classification June 2021 a b 350 000 people in famine conditions in Ethiopia s Tigray Al Jazeera 10 June 2021 a b c d e After two months of war Tigray faces starvation Ethiopia s government appears to be blocking food deliveries to the region The Economist 23 January 2021 Archived from the original on 22 January 2021 Retrieved 11 February 2021 a b c d e Ethiopian Red Cross says 80 percent of Tigray cut off from aid France 24 AFP 10 February 2021 Archived from the original on 10 February 2021 Retrieved 10 February 2021 Ethiopia Food Security Outlook June 2022 to January 2023 Ethiopia reliefweb int Zelalem Zecharias 19 January 2021 Starvation crisis looms as aid groups seek urgent Tigray access Al Jazeera English Archived from the original on 10 February 2021 Retrieved 10 February 2021 Brown Molly E 2008 The Future of FEWS NET Famine Early Warning Systems and Remote Sensing Data Springer pp 297 309 doi 10 1007 978 3 540 75369 8 18 ISBN 978 3 540 75367 4 Archived from the original on 10 February 2021 Retrieved 10 February 2021 Continued conflict in Tigray coupled with low economic activity drives Emergency IPC Phase 4 Famine Early Warning Systems Network 10 February 2021 Archived from the original on 10 February 2021 Retrieved 10 February 2021 The Hidden Truth of Ethiopia s plan to Close Two Refugee Camps in Tigray Human Rights Concern Eritrea 10 February 2021 Archived from the original on 10 February 2021 Retrieved 11 February 2021 Ethiopia Tigray conflict Famine hits 400 000 UN warns BBC News BBC 3 July 2021 Retrieved 3 July 2021 UNICEF Ethiopia Humanitarian Situation Report No 9 September 2022 ReliefWeb UNICEF 29 October 2022 Archived from the original on 30 October 2022 a b Ekubamichael Medihane 25 January 2021 News Tigray region interim admin official admits death of 13 due to lack of food says crisis scale unprecedented in region s history Addis Standard Archived from the original on 11 February 2021 Retrieved 11 February 2021 Zekaria Samia 18 October 2010 Tigray Central Statistical Agency Ethiopia Archived from the original on 14 November 2011 Retrieved 11 February 2021 a b IPC and Famine Integrated Food Security Phase Classification 2013 Archived from the original on 11 February 2021 Retrieved 11 February 2021 Anna Cara 30 June 2021 Trapped in Ethiopia s Tigray people falling like leaves Associated Press Archived from the original on 31 October 2021 Retrieved 22 November 2021 Scores of children killed by starvation in Tigray says health official The Guardian 16 November 2021 a b Breaking Report received by the UN just this morning reveals 150 people died of hunger in Tigray Eritrean forces Amhara region authorities restricting humanitarian access Addis Standard 15 April 2021 Archived from the original on 18 April 2021 Retrieved 18 April 2021 Horn of Africa crisis Irish charities come together to sound the alarm as famine looms OCHA ReliefWeb 16 June 2022 Professor Jan Nyssen of Ghent University continues to assemble a devastating indictment against those responsible for the carnage destitution and suffering in Tigray UK Gov pressed again this week to avert this unfolding catastrophe DavidAlton net 14 October 2021 Archived from the original on 23 November 2021 Vanden Bempt Tim Nyssen Jan 13 February 2021 What happens with the limited volumes of food aid that are sent to Tigray ResearchGate Archived from the original on 14 February 2021 Retrieved 14 February 2021 Everything increasing except wages inflation batters Ethiopia France 24 AFP 11 December 2022 WFP Ethiopia Market Watch March 2023 Reliefweb 25 April 2023 31 Mar 2023 Ethiopians mark Coptic new year amid persistent inflation Africanews and Associated Press 12 September 2023 Matthias Williams and Jason Neely 31 May 2022 Drought threatens starvation in Horn of Africa U N agencies say Reuters website Retrieved 12 May 2023 Cassidy Emily 13 December 2022 Worst Drought on Record Parches Horn of Africa Report 43 000 estimated dead in Somalia drought last year AP NEWS 20 March 2023 Retrieved 20 March 2023 Somalia drought may have killed 43 000 in 2022 half under 5 UN www aljazeera com Retrieved 15 June 2023 africanews 5 September 2022 Horn of Africa Faces Another Failed Rainy Season Mishra Donald Prakash The Horn of Africa Faces Deepening Crisis The locust crisis The World Bank s response World ReliefWeb Retrieved 28 April 2020 a b Desert Locust Bulletin General situation during October 2020 PDF Food and Agriculture Organization 2 November 2020 Retrieved 7 November 2020 permanent dead link a b Central amp Eastern region outbreaks May 2018 to present www fao org Retrieved 3 May 2020 Desert Locust Bulletin General situation during December 2019 PDF Food and Agriculture Organization 6 January 2020 Nuvem de gafanhotos na Argentina deixa fronteira com Brasil em alerta R7 com in Brazilian Portuguese 23 June 2020 Retrieved 24 June 2020 Alarm as coronavirus curbs disrupt East Africa fight on locusts www aljazeera com Retrieved 28 April 2020 Real time evaluation of FAO s response to desert locust upsurge www fao org Retrieved 2 October 2022 Desert Locust upsurge 2019 2021 www fao org Retrieved 2 October 2022 a b Psaledakis Daphne et al 1 September 2021 U S agency says Tigrayan forces looted aid warehouses in Ethiopia s Amhara region Reuters Retrieved 8 September 2021 I do believe that the TPLF has been very opportunistic he added Representatives for the TPLF and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Any interference or theft of humanitarian aid is unacceptable and prevents critical assistance from reaching people in need Unfortunately since the beginning of the conflict in northern Ethiopia we ve seen instances of looting from all parties a USAID spokesperson said Tigray rebels loot humanitarian warehouses Vatican News Dicasterium pro Communicatione 1 September 2021 Retrieved 11 September 2021 Rebels in Ethiopia s war torn Tigray region have reportedly been looting aid warehouses The pillaging compounds a deepening humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa nation which sees over five million people in urgent need of basic food aid Wilkins Henry 25 August 2022 WFP Chief Alleges TPLF Stole Fuel Designated for Humanitarian Use Voice of America Archived from the original on 23 September 2022 Statement by Executive Director of WFP on seizure of humanitarian fuel supplies in Tigray World Food Programme 25 August 2022 Archived from the original on 19 October 2022 Afar and Amhara Regions Report on Violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law in Afar and Amhara Regions of Ethiopia Published Ethiopian Human Rights Commission EHRC 11 March 2022 Retrieved 13 March 2022 HRW amp Amnesty 2022 p 88 HRW amp Amnesty 2022 pp 89 90 HRW amp Amnesty 2022 pp 91 95 HRW amp Amnesty 2022 p 92 Situation Report EEPA HORN No 62 21 January 2021 PDF EEPA 21 January 2021 Archived PDF from the original on 21 January 2021 Retrieved 21 January 2021 Muhumuza Rodney 27 November 2022 Kidnappings looting cited in Ethiopia s Tigray after truce Associated Press Looting forced removals plague Ethiopia s Tigray despite truce witnesses Reuters 2 December 2022 News Tigrayan officials say peace agreement aims to rescue people of Tigray accuse Eritrean forces of continued atrocities on civilians Addis Standard 21 November 2022 Agreement for Lasting Peace through a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities between the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Tigray People s Liberation Front PDF Addis Standard 2 November 2022 Archived PDF from the original on 4 November 2022 Retrieved 4 November 2022 Report UAE operating air bridge to Ethiopian army i24news Retrieved 27 November 2021 As America retreats regional rogues are on the rise The Economist Retrieved 27 November 2021 Ethiopia Tigray Region Humanitarian Update Situation Report 12 February 2021 ReliefWeb 12 February 2021 Archived from the original on 14 February 2021 Retrieved 14 February 2021 Statement from Secretary General of NRC Jan Egeland Aid still not reaching Tigray ReliefWeb 1 February 2021 Archived from the original on 10 February 2021 Retrieved 10 February 2021 HRW amp Amnesty 2022 p 95 Ethiopia Access Snapshot Tigray region As of 31 March 2021 Reliefweb OCHA 15 April 2021 Archived from the original on 9 May 2021 HRW amp Amnesty 2022 pp 78 91 102 We ll be left without families Fear in Ethiopia s Tigray Associated Press 11 February 2021 Archived from the original on 12 February 2021 Retrieved 12 February 2021 Ethiopia expels top UN officials amid Tigray aid crisis BBC News 30 September 2021 Ethiopia orders expulsion of 7 top UN officials for meddling www aljazeera com Retrieved 30 September 2021 de Waal Alex 4 November 2021 Tigray is starving it is time for the UN to act Al Jazeera English Archived from the original on 5 November 2021 Retrieved 5 November 2021 Tigray almost one in three children under five malnourished UN says The Irish Times 20 August 2022 Archived from the original on 21 September 2022 Ethiopia Half of Tigray in severe food shortage Deutsche Welle 20 August 2022 Archived from the original on 20 October 2022 UN calls for ceasefire amid renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia Al Jazeera 24 August 2022 Archived from the original on 14 October 2022 US says it s horrified by conditions in Ethiopia after theft leads to food aid pause and deaths Associated Press 29 June 2023 de Waal Alex 23 December 2020 Who Will Call Out Eritrea s War Crimes in Tigray Tufts University Archived from the original on 8 February 2021 Retrieved 8 February 2021 Starving Tigray How armed conflict and mass atrocities have destroyed an Ethiopian Region s economy and food system and are threatening famine PDF World Peace Foundation 5 April 2021 Archived PDF from the original on 6 April 2021 Retrieved 6 April 2021 Schifrin Nick 6 October 2021 Ethiopia s sophisticated campaign to withhold food fuel and other aid from Tigray PBS Archived from the original on 16 October 2021 Retrieved 16 October 2021 Weldemichel Teklehaymanot G 18 November 2021 Inventing hell how the Ethiopian and Eritrean regimes produced famine in Tigray Human Geography 15 3 SAGE Publishing 290 294 doi 10 1177 19427786211061431 S2CID 244412611 Archived from the original on 18 November 2021 Retrieved 19 November 2021 International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia finds reasonable grounds to believe that the federal government has committed crimes against humanity in Tigray region and that Tigrayan forces have committed serious human rights abuses some amounting to war crimes Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 22 September 2022 Wikidata Q122538801 archived from the original on 14 September 2023 International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia United Nations Human Rights Council 51st Session OHCHR 22 September 2022 Retrieved 29 October 2022 Lowenstein Clinic 2023 pp 3 10 Lowenstein Clinic finds Ethiopia and allies responsible for mass starvation in Tigray Yale Law School 6 June 2023 Wikidata Q122538476 archived from the original on 31 August 2023 Telila Henok Fasil 20 September 2023 Commentary The cascading economic effects in Ethiopia of the prolonged Russia Ukraine crisis Addis Standard Archived from the original on 20 September 2023 Tadesse Fasika Marks Simon 16 June 2022 Wheat Farming Drive in Ethiopia Gathers Pace as Shortages Bite Bloomberg Archived from the original on 17 June 2022 Ethiopia Hunger Crisis Emergency Appeal MDRET027 Reliefweb International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies 20 March 2022 Yusuf Mohammed 8 September 2022 Grain from Ukraine Arrives in Ethiopia Voice of America U N ship carrying Ukrainian wheat heads to Ethiopia Reuters 7 October 2022 News Ukraine donates 50 000 mt wheat to Ethiopia Somalia Addis Standard 22 September 2022 News Ukraine Ministry says ship with 27 000 tonnes of wheat leaves for Ethiopia Addis Standard 17 November 2022 West urges Russia to reverse Ukraine grain deal suspension Al Jazeera 30 October 2022 Russian attacks on Ukraine grain network a move to cut competition German minister says Reuters 2 May 2022 Ukraine UN denounce Russian missile strike on Odesa following deal to unblock grain exports CBC News Associated Press 23 July 2022 IPC Overview and Classification System Integrated Food Security Phase Classification 2013 Archived from the original on 11 February 2021 Retrieved 11 February 2021 de Waal Alex 7 February 2021 Viewpoint From Ethiopia s Tigray region to Yemen the dilemma of declaring a famine Tufts University Archived from the original on 10 February 2021 Retrieved 10 February 2021 Bibliography edit All of Us Are in Constant Hunger Ethiopia s Responsibility for Starvation in Tigray PDF Allard K Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic Yale Law School June 2023 Archived from the original PDF on 24 June 2023 We will erase you from this land Crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in Ethiopia s Western Tigray Zone Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International AFR 25 5444 2022 6 April 2022 ISBN 9781623139759 Archived from the original on 11 August 2023 Further reading editNyssen Jan Negash Emnet Van Schaeybroeck Bert Haegeman Kiara Annys Sofie 4 July 2023 Crop Cultivation at Wartime Plight and Resilience of Tigray s Agrarian Society North Ethiopia Defence and Peace Economics 34 5 618 645 doi 10 1080 10242694 2022 2066420 ISSN 1024 2694 S2CID 248537370 Weldemichel Teklehaymanot G 18 November 2021 Inventing hell how the Ethiopian and Eritrean regimes produced famine in Tigray Human Geography 15 3 290 294 doi 10 1177 19427786211061431 S2CID 244412611 Weldemariam Lemlem Fitwi Sakdapolrak Patrick Erdkunde Ayansina Ayanlade 27 November 2022 The impact of migration on food security in Tigray Northern Ethiopia The role of migration patterns and remittances Erdkunde 76 4 University of Bonn 271 288 doi 10 3112 erdkunde 2022 04 03 eISSN 2702 5985 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Famine in northern Ethiopia 2020 present amp oldid 1217943237, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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