The WHO launched this Wednesday a cry of alarm over the humanitarian situation in Tigray, “the worst disaster in the world”, accusing the leaders of developed countries of having neglected the crisis in this region of Ethiopia, the scene of a murderous conflict between the government and rebels.
The director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has denounced an “unimaginable cruelty” inflicted on the six million people who live in this region of northern Ethiopia whose authorities are in conflict with the federal government.
The conflict began in November 2020 when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military operation in the region to topple the Tigray rebel authorities of the Tigray Popular Liberation Front (TPLF), accusing them of attacking federal army camps.
Since the beginning of the conflict, the region has suffered from food shortages and access to essential services such as electricity, telecommunications and banks has been drastically reduced.
“Result: the population of Tigray faces multiple epidemics of malaria, anthrax, cholera, diarrhea and other” diseases, said Tedros, himself from Tigray, at a news conference in Geneva.
“Maybe the reason is the skin color of the Tigrayans”
This situation of “unimaginable cruelty must end. The only solution is peace,” stressed the head of the WHO, who has asked the Ethiopian government to resolve the conflict “peacefully.” Fighting has calmed down since a humanitarian truce was declared in late March, allowing international aid convoys to Tigray to resume.
But according to the WHO chief, food and medicine are only trickling into the region. Essential services must be restored to restore confidence for peace negotiations, he said.
The WHO director-general also suggested that discrimination and racism could explain why the situation in Tigray drags on in indifference, despite the fact that it is “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”.
“Perhaps the reason is the skin color of Tigrayans. In recent months I have not heard any head of state mention the situation in Tigray, especially in the developed world. Why? I think we know.”
“It’s the worst disaster in the world as I speak to you (…) It’s the absolute truth,” he stressed. “The drought affecting the Horn of Africa is exacerbating the crisis,” she added.
Source: BFM TV
