NAIROBI, Kenya: Life for civilians in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region has become “extremely alarming” as hunger grows and fighting remains an obstacle to reaching millions of people with aid, the United Nations says in a new report.
The conflict that has shaken one of Africa’s most powerful and populous countries — a key US security ally in the Horn of Africa — has killed thousands of people and is now in its fourth month. But little is known about the situation for most of Tigray’s 6 million people, as journalists are blocked from entering, communications are patchy and many aid workers struggle to obtain permission to enter.
One challenge is that Ethiopia may no longer control up to 40% of the Tigray region, the UN Security Council was told in a closed-door session this week. Ethiopia and allied fighters have been pursuing the now-fugitive Tigray regional government that once dominated Ethiopia’s government for nearly three decades. Now soldiers from Eritrea are deeply involved on the side of Ethiopia, even as Addis Ababa denies their presence.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was the latest to pressure Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed directly, urging the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner in a phone call to allow “immediate, full and unhindered” aid access to Tigray before more people die.
Abiy’s brief statement on the call didn’t mention Tigray. Neither did his statements on calls this week with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel as European countries also express concern over one of the world’s newest crisis zones. Neighboring Sudan and Somalia could be sucked in, experts have warned.
The new UN humanitarian report released late Thursday includes a map showing most of the Tigray region marked as “inaccessible” for humanitarian workers. It says the security situation remains “volatile and unpredictable” more than two months after Abiy’s government declared victory.
The aid response remains “drastically inadequate” with little access to the vast rural population off the main roads, the report says, even as Ethiopia’s government has said well over 1 million people in Tigray have been reached with assistance. Some aid workers have reported having to negotiate access with a range of armed actors, even Eritrean ones.
Civilians have suffered. “Reports from aid workers on the ground indicate a rising in acute malnutrition across the region,” the new report says. “Only 1 percent of the nearly 920 nutrition treatment facilities in Tigray are reachable.”
Starvation has become a major concern. “Many households are expected to have already depleted their food stocks, or are expected to deplete their food stocks in the next two months,” according to a new report posted Thursday by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, which is funded and managed by the US
The report said more parts of central and eastern Tigray likely will enter Emergency Phase 4, a step below famine, in the coming weeks.
Health care in the region is “alarmingly limited,” with just three of Tigray’s 11 hospitals functioning and nearly 80% of health centers not functional or accessible, the UN report says. Aid workers have said many health centers have been looted, hit by artillery fire or destroyed.
Large parts of two camps that once hosted thousands of refugees from nearby Eritrea have been systematically destroyed, according to analysis of satellite images by the UK-based DX Open Network nonprofit. Now some 5,000 of the refugees who have made their way to the community of Shire “are living in dire conditions, many sleeping in an open field on the outskirts of the town, with no water and no food,” the UN report says.
Visiting UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi this week urged Ethiopia to allow access for independent investigators to probe alleged widespread human rights abuses, calling the overall situation in Tigray “extremely grave.”
UN: Situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray now ‘extremely alarming’
https://arab.news/98euf
UN: Situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray now ‘extremely alarming’
- The new UN humanitarian report released late Thursday includes a map showing most of the Tigray region marked as ‘inaccessible’ for humanitarian workers
- Health care in the region is ‘alarmingly limited,’ with just three of Tigray’s 11 hospitals functioning and nearly 80% of health centers not functional or accessible
‘Don’t let Pari Island sink’: Indonesian fishers seek climate reparations from Swiss cement giant
- Holcim emitted more than 7bn tonnes of carbon dioxide between 1950 and 2021, research shows
- With about 11 percent of Pari submerged, most of the island might be underwater by 2050
JAKARTA: When Asmania began aquafarming on Indonesia’s Pari Island more than 20 years ago, harvest time brought her abundant seaweed and grouper fish to sustain livelihood, at times yielding more than enough good quality produce to supply export markets.
But as oceans grew warmer and extreme weather became more common as a result of climate change, seaweed and fish farming on the island are increasingly unsustainable, forcing her and other women on the island to look elsewhere to make a living.
“The seaweed we plant is not as good as it used to be. I also used to harvest grouper every nine months, but in the face of the climate crisis, the fish die way earlier,” the 42-year-old mother of three told Arab News.
The low-lying island of Pari, part of the famed Thousand Islands that lie off Java’s northwestern coast just under two hours from the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, is on the forefront of the climate crisis.
With rising global temperatures driving up sea levels, the island of about 1,000 people has suffered more frequent coastal erosion and tidal flooding that is driving away tourists — a traditionally steady source of income — while chaotic weather devastated fishing hauls.
The direct impacts of climate change pushed Asmania and three other Pari islanders to sue Swiss-based Holcim, the world’s largest cement maker, joining a growing number of lawsuits aimed at holding corporations responsible for their contributions to climate change.
“We feel the shift caused by climate change and suffer from the subsequent environmental damage. This is why we were encouraged to file a lawsuit,” Asmania said.
“Large corporations responsible for emissions, like Holcim, must be held accountable. It’s not fair that people who live on the coast must bear all the burden, it’s not fair that small fishermen like us must live awaiting the risks of climate change.”
Research by the US-based Climate Accountability Institute shows that Holcim emitted more than 7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide between 1950 and 2021, while the Global Cement and Concrete Association said cement production accounts for about 7 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.
With support from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, or Walhi, the Swiss Church Aid group HEKS and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, the four Indonesians from Pari filed a complaint against Holcim in Zug, Switzerland — where Holcim has its headquarters — in 2023.
In December, the Swiss court agreed to hear the complaint, which accuses Holcim of failing to do enough to cut carbon emissions and demands the global manufacturer to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 43 percent by 2030, co-finance adaptation measures on Pari and pay “loss and damage” compensation.
It was the first time a Swiss court has admitted climate litigation brought against a big corporation, according to HEKS.
“I was so happy when I heard the news, after what has been a very long process,” Asmania said.
“Why am I fighting for this? Because it’s not just for me, it’s also for my kids and future grandkids, they deserve and need a good environment.”
Holcim did not immediately respond to Arab News’s request for comment but has reportedly appealed the Swiss court decision.
Eleven percent of Pari Island has been submerged over the past decade due to rising sea levels, and most of it will probably be underwater by 2050, according to Walhi.
“Pari Island was around 40 to 43 hectares, but this is no longer the case. There’s been so much more coastal abrasion so we’re losing more of our land,” Mustaghfirin, a Pari fisherman and one of the plaintiffs in the case, told Arab News.
The 54-year-old father of three has been fishing for three decades. While his catch could reach more than 100kg in the past, nowadays he considers himself lucky to return home with 30kg. Some species, such as tuna and lobster, are increasingly difficult to find.
“There have been about seven generations who lived on this island, and these days we are truly feeling the impacts of climate change, which is threatening our home, our livelihoods,” he said.
“Don’t wait until we sink to save us. Don’t let Pari Island sink.”
