Ethiopia: Abiy Ahmed Can’t Ensure Relief Deliveries Then U.N. Forces Must Step In

Abiy Ahmed: Lies, lies and more. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The agreement to stop hostilities between the Ethiopian federal government and the regional government of the Tigre on March 24, 2022 to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the blocked region was greeted with cautious optimism by the Tigrean diaspora.

Given the history of several broken promises made by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to the US, the European Union, the United Nations and the African Union (AU) at different times since the start of the war on the Tigre, some cast a heavy dose of skepticism. received news with Empty promises gave the regime time to regroup repeatedly and launch military offensives.

The World Food Program (WFP) is saying that Tigre needed 100 trucks of food a day to reduce the famine caused by the blockade. Abiy Ahmed-led cacophony has allowed a total of 66 trucks to pass over a month since the alleged ceasefire. This represents 2.2% of the need.

Reports abound that the government and its allies from neighboring Eritrea and Amhara ethnic militias are gathering troops along the Tigre’s southern and western borders in a further attempt to subjugate the region. Habitual lies and deceit are the modus operandi of this prosperity gospel-inspired governance and it has become apparent to all. Needless to say, the government claims that aid is flowing into the Tigre, a claim that contradicts the facts on the ground. But the regime has long learned that it does not penalize open lies. The victims are those who are facing famine in the blocked area.

This is a familiar pattern. The first impulse of the Abi regime is to lie or mislead when solving a problem. Abi didn’t realize that this could only serve as a temporary measure, as Dr. King once said, “No lie can last forever”. When confronted with the truth, Abi pivots and scapegoats. Several reasons have been cited for why humanitarian aid is not arriving at the Tigre during the war: Tigre Defense Forces (TDF) are blocking deliveries; or, Afar fighters obstructing travel through their kingdom; Or, the Amhara militia is blocking aid from going. It goes on and on.

One would think that the Amhara and Afar regional states are foreign countries outside the control of the federal government. It is tantamount to acknowledging that Abiy has handed over control of the country to forces created to fight the TDF by infusing anti-Tigre sentiment with hate messages. Abi is now unable or unwilling to disarm these forces if they are indeed responsible for blocking aid delivery to the Tigre. If so, it is imperative for the UN Security Council to immediately establish a humanitarian corridor enforced by a UN peacekeeping force composed of AU member troops. There would then be no excuse that some other entity is withholding relief supplies from Tigre.

The urgency of the situation cannot be stressed enough. A study from the University of Ghent suggests that ethnic blockades and war have caused man-made famines cost of one and a half lakhs The population of Tigre was less than seven million. This is 7% of the population and would be the equivalent of the US losing 23 million people with a population of 330 million.

The time to act by the international community to move beyond expressions of “concern” is long overdue. Failure to take action drives them into an ongoing genocide.

It serves no purpose to shed crocodile tears as the death toll is increasing due to lack of food and medicine. The war has now engulfed other parts of Ethiopia as well, in an orgy of senseless violence on the watch of Nobel “Peace Prize” recipient Abiy Ahmed.

Dr. Mohd. Noorhusain is a retired Physician.