World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, originally from the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, said on Thursday he had lost contact with his relatives in that region of northern Ethiopia months ago and could not help them when they were suffering from “starvation.”
The announcement came a day after fighting resumed in Ethiopia between federal forces and Tigray rebels following a five-month truce.
“I have many relatives there… I don’t even know who died and who is still alive,” Gebreyesus said at a press conference.
This is not the first time that the Director General of the World Health Organization has commented to journalists on what is happening in his country, condemning the humanitarian situation in Tigray.
“I can’t send them money. I know they are hungry… I can’t share what I have with them because they are completely isolated. I didn’t talk to them,” he said emotionally.
On August 17, Ghebreyesus warned of the humanitarian situation in Tigray, which he called “the worst disaster in the world”, urging the leaders of developed countries to ignore this crisis.
On Thursday, he said there were six million people living in Tigray who were being subjected to “collective punishment.”
War erupted in November 2020 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military operation in Tigray to oust local Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) authorities for accusing them of attacking federal army camps.
Since the beginning of the conflict, the region has suffered from a food crisis and a significant decline in basic services such as electricity, communications and banking.
The humanitarian truce, approved at the end of March, allowed the gradual resumption of the delivery of humanitarian aid by road to Tigray after a three-month break.
However, Ghebreyesus confirmed that food and medicines entered the region in very small quantities.
His deputy in charge of emergency intervention, Susi Ibrahim Wahl, said during a press conference that “all humanitarian activists expressed their disappointment with the efforts of the international community regarding the situation in Tigray. We have made no progress for over 21 months, and the blockade has created inhumane conditions.”
“This is a very dangerous situation that requires exceptional efforts from the international community to save lives,” he added.
