'I extend to the Ethiopian people my most cordial and heart-felt greetings, particularly to those who are suffering due to the ongoing conflict and the serious humanitarian situation it has caused.'
It isn't the first time Pope Francis calls for peace in Ethiopia, a country that has long faced a humanitarian crisis due to war and hunger.
“I couldn’t sleep at night or think straight during the day, thinking about what to feed my kids. I worry about how to provide for my kids.”
“The whole journey was through the scorching sun and the thirst for drinking water was so agonizing. We were forced to drink rainwater from the ground, but that made us sick.”
Estimates show that more than five million refugees are fleeing from the devastating conflict sparked toward the end of 2020 between the government and the so-called People's Liberation Front in the country's northern Tigray region. Many of those affected are seeking refuge in neighboring Sudan.
The World Food Program reports that in that region alone, some seven million people are in urgent need of food. Since July, contributions have covered less than 10 percent of the cost of meeting basic needs. The problem risks becoming even worse than the 2011 famine in the Horn of Africa.
“We don’t have any food stocks at the moment to plan with or to distribute. Whatever we have is currently being distributed or has already been distributed.”
The ongoing armed conflict in Ethiopia is the latest on a long list of wars in the region. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for his efforts to resolve the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, which began in the late 1990s.
But that peace was short-lived, as it fostered unrest in the northern regions of Ethiopia, specifically the Tigray region. The intensity of the conflicts has escalated in the last year, and humanitarian organizations are struggling to carry out their work. In July, three members of Doctors without Borders were killed there.
TR: CT
