Govt: 50 Convoys carrying aid en route to Tigray
ADDIS ABABA – Additional 50 convoys carrying food items and fuel are en route to Tirgray by road after departing from the neighboring Afar capital city Semera today, said the Government Communication Service (GCS).
The federal government declared a truce on March 24 to allow humanitarian aid to the people of Tigray.
“Since this decision, the Ethiopian government has taken several measures to facilitate humanitarian aid,” the GCS said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.
The measures include, the statement said, facilitating daily air transportation to the Mekelle for the delivery of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and nutritional supplements.
In the past two days, the GCS said the federal government facilitated the movement of 60 trucks carrying humanitarian aid via the Semera-Abala-Mekelle road.
Officials say 50 humanitarian convoys – 47 with food and another 3 fuel tankers – departed from Afar region’s Semera on Wednesday, on April 14, 2022.
The trucks have now passed Erebti town and are now heading towards Mekelle, said the GCS in the statement issued at 06:30 p.m. local time.
Additional 10 humanitarian convoys carrying food items also departed Semera to Tigray in the previous two days, as per federal authorities.
“This action came in accordance with building on efforts to ensure humanitarian assistance to reach the intended beneficiaries in the region,” the communication office said.
The Ethiopian government reaffirms its commitment “to work closely with the international community and other stakeholders to ensure proper access to humanitarian aid”, said the statement.
“The government also urges the international community to put pressure on Tigray militants to withdraw fully from the areas they occupy in the Afar and Amhara regions to pave way for a smooth aid delivery for those in need,” the statement concluded.
