TPLF’s Recent Aggressions in Afar affecting Aid Delivery, Foreign Ministry says
ADDIS ABABA – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said the latest provocations and shelling of the Abala area in Afar by the TPLF forces have continued to challenge the humanitarian supply process.
The Government of Ethiopia called on the international community to condemn this egregious act by the TPLF that puts the lives of many of our people in the Tigray region in danger, said Dina Mufti, spokesperson of MoFA, during a press briefing on Thursday.
He said the group’s attack on the humanitarian supply route shows its disregard for the people in Tigray and its profiteering attitude from creating and exacerbating the food crisis in the region.
“The silence of the WFP chief on the more than 1,000 hijacked trucks by the TPLF coupled with the indifference of the international community over the latest unwarranted provocations on humanitarian supply routes in the Afar region are putting many lives in danger,” the spokesperson added.
During his briefing, the Spokesperson also rejected the recent Human Rights Watch’s allegation which claims thousands of ethnic Tigrayans, recently deported from Saudi Arabia, have been mistreated in the hands of the government.
“The report is not only unsubstantiated but an irresponsible move that aimed to discredit all the efforts that the Ethiopian government has been doing to relieve the pains of our citizens that have returned from Saudi Arabia,” Dina said.
“The report by the Human Rights Watch seems to accuse the government of Ethiopia of not sending the returnees to the areas that have been affected by the conflict. Advancing political interests at the cost of the returnees is beyond comprehension,” he added.
The Government repatriated more than 40,000 Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia in just a couple of months regardless of which ethnic group that they belong to, the Spokesperson said.
Featured Image Caption: spokesperson of MoFA, Ambassador Dina speaking at his biweekly press briefing on Thursday. [Photo MoFA]
