Two trucks carrying medical supplies arrived in Ethiopia’s Tigray region on Tuesday, the first shipment of international aid to reach the region since Ethiopia’s federal government and Tigrayan forces agreed to a cease-fire earlier this month. The convoy by the International Committee of the Red Cross or ICRC delivered 40 tons of “essential items, emergency medicines and surgical equipment” to Mekelle, Tigray’s regional capital, according to an ICRC statement. Restrictions on humanitarian access since the conflict erupted in November 2020 have resulted in a dire humanitarian crisis across the region, with millions in urgent need of food and medicine. The terms of the cease-fire deal — struck in South Africa earlier this month — commit Ethiopia’s federal government to facilitating unhindered humanitarian access to Tigray and restoring its phone, internet and banking services. Last week, Ethiopia’s chief negotiator in the peace talks, Redwan Hussein, said services were “being restored” to Tigray, while on Tuesday Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said his government was committed to implementing the cease-fire deal.
SOURCE: VOA