Ethiopia’s government has joined the World Food Program in condemning Tigrayan forces for allegedly stealing more than half-a-million liters of fuel meant for delivering food aid. The government demanded in a statement that the fuel be returned and the international humanitarian community take action against the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF. WFP head David Beasley said it had happened on Wednesday, the day fighting broke out again following the humanitarian truce agreed in March between Tigrayan forces and the Ethiopian government. The government has been fighting the TPLF for nearly two years. The news comes after a five-month-old cease-fire came to an end Wednesday, with the government and TPLF blaming each other for a new offensive in the north of the country. Tigray has been under a humanitarian blockade for around eight months. Humanitarian organizations say parts of the region are likely in a state of famine due to a lack of aid, the distribution of which is exacerbated by fuel shortages. But Tigray’s regional government called his comments “incendiary” and said it was taking back 600,000 litres of fuel it had loaned to the WFP a few months ago.
SOURCE: VOA