Ethiopia's Tigray Reports 1.4K Deaths After Food Aid Suspension

Facts

• Tigray's Disaster Risk Management Commissioner Gebrehiwet Gebrezgabher has reported that at least 1,411 people have starved to death in the war-torn northern region of Ethiopia since food aid was halted about four months ago.¹
• He stressed that the death toll could be even higher as data has only been collated from three out of Tigray's six zones — the east, north-west, and south-east — so far.¹
• Starvation in the region has reportedly reached a serious level as the cold and rainy winter has aggravated the difficult situation, prompting the commissioner to urge the international community to restart humanitarian aid as soon as possible.²
• The US and the UN's World Food Program paused food aid to Tigray in March as a last resort measure after discovering a scheme to steal aid that allegedly involved Ethiopian government officials, extending the ban to the rest of the country in June.³
• Aid deliveries had resumed in Tigray, where the recent war left 90% of the population in need of food assistance, following a cease-fire in November. During the conflict, both sides reportedly looted humanitarian supplies and aid access was restricted.⁴
• Meanwhile, fighting between Ethiopia's military and the northeastern Amhara region's ethnic militia Fano, its former ally in the two-year Tigray conflict, has intensified in recent weeks, pushing PM Abiy Ahmed's government to declare a state of emergency and block the internet.⁵

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²Borkena Ethiopian News, ³Africa News, ⁴Associated Press, and ⁵The New York Times.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Addis Standard. It would be understandable that major donors decided to halt food aid delivery following news of large-scale theft involving Ethiopian government officials if they were seeking a quick fix to this deliberate mismanagement of the system. However, it hasn't been restored after several months, and vulnerable civilians are the ones being punished as they remain without access to basic nutrition.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Wall Street Journal. Taxpayer-funded assistance to foreign countries must not be confused with charity, as it's a tool that must be wisely used to support the national interest and produce real results for Americans. As a criminal network comprised of both sides of the Tigray conflict was outrageously playing the US for a fool by stealing food aid, it would be unacceptable for Washington to keep wasting its limited resources.

Predictions