People gather at a petrol station during food distribution near Humera, in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. AFPThe UN said on Wednesday that aid programmes in famine-stricken parts of northern Ethiopia could be cut because fighting between rebels and government forces was blocking the only usable road into the Tigray region. UN spokesman Farhan Haq said convoys carrying aid workers, food, fuel and other humanitarian supplies could not traverse the route from Semera city, the capital of Afar state, to Tigray due to “security reasons”. The route from Semera to Tigray is critical for aid delivery as two key bridges along other routes were destroyed in late June. But last month, pro-TPLF forces retook Mekele in a stunning reversal of the conflict and have since pushed south-east into Afar state.

Source: Ethiopian News July 21, 2021 17:48 UTC