Over 1,300 Died of Starvation in Ethiopian Tigray Displacement Camps Over Three Years, Official Says

Kathmandu. A local official informed AFP on Monday that over 1,300 people have died of starvation in displacement camps in Ethiopia's conflict-ridden Tigray region over the past three years.

According to estimates by the African Union, at least 600,000 people died in the civil war between the federal government and the army of the northern Tigray region from 2020 to 2022.

About one hundred thousand people have been displaced to camps due to the war. Gebreselassie Tarek, Director of the Social Affairs Office of Tigray, told AFP, "Many internally displaced persons in the camps around Tigray have died due to starvation and lack of medicine over the past three years."

He stated that this number is 1,309. "The situation is getting worse, we are not receiving enough support from the federal government, and international non-governmental organizations are reducing their assistance," Gebreselassie said.

Following rising political tensions, Addis Ababa stopped the financial aid it was providing to Tigray a few months ago. "Many people are at risk," Gebreselassie said, "One of the most affected camps has 150,000 people."

Clashes between the Ethiopian army and the Tigray army resumed in November and January. Federal officials accuse the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) of building relations with Eritrea.

Eritrea has accused landlocked Ethiopia of planning to seize its port city of Assab. Soldiers have been massing on the border for weeks. Last month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged the two nations to de-escalate tensions immediately, "before it is too late."