ETHIOPIA ADMITS FIRING AT UN TEAM IN TIGRAY
Ethiopia’s government has admitted federal soldiers shot at a United Nations team in the conflict-hit Tigray region, claiming that the team were trying to reach areas “they were not supposed to go.”
The shooting incident occurred on Sunday, December 6 following an agreement an Ethiopia-UN agreement signed on November 29, allowing the UN to bring humanitarian aid to areas under Ethiopian government control in Tigray.
Speaking on the shooting incident in Addis Ababa on Tuesday, an Ethiopian Government spokesperson Redwan Hussein said members of the UN team broke two checkpoints and were trying to reach a third when they were shot at.
The Ethiopian spokesperson accused the UN team of indulging themselves in a “kind of adventurous expedition".
"If anybody is told not to go, then they have to abide by it. You cannot ignore a government warning and then try to run roughshod (over) everybody," he added.
However, Humanitarian agencies on Tuesday reiterated calls for immediate access to Tigray, to provide humanitarian aid to about 6 million people as warnings have become increasingly dire about the lack of food, fuel, clean water, cash and other necessities.
Yesterday’s statement by @PMEthiopia says that protection and assistance will be given to those impacted by military action in #Tigray including Eritrean refugees.
Regaining access to refugees and others in need is urgent and critical for UNHCR and humanitarian organizations.
— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) December 8, 2020
However, the Ethiopian Government has insisted that humanitarian assistance must be led and coordinated by the Ethiopian government.
“There needs to be clarity as it pertains to UN access for humanitarian assistance. The agreement signed is for assistance to be led and coordinated by the Ethiopian government. No entity, multilateral or unilateral can supplant the responsibility of the gov’t.” - @RedwanHussien pic.twitter.com/AmBz2NaBgr
— Ethiopia State of Emergency Fact Check (@SOEFactCheck) December 8, 2020
READ ALSO: ETHIOPIA PM ABIY AHMED RULES OUT DIALOGUE WITH TIGRAY FORCES DURING AU ENVOY'S VISIT
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