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Foreign Minister Maas on the armed conflict and humanitarian situation in Ethiopia
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas today (20 November) issued the following statement on the armed conflict and humanitarian situation in the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia:
Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries have already had to face huge challenges this year in the form of floods, the locust invasion and COVID‑19. And now there is the armed conflict in the Tigray region, which is dividing the country, harming the people and having an impact on neighbouring states. This is extremely dangerous.
In order to respond directly to the emergency and to provide life-saving assistance, we have now decided to top up our humanitarian assistance for Ethiopia by a further five million euro. We will make this funding available to the Country-Based Pooled Fund and thus to aid workers on the ground so that they can help people who have lost their homes or are fleeing from the fighting.
What is needed to resolve the conflict is a political process that starts with de-escalation and dialogue and continues the course of reform launched by Prime Minister Abiy. The parties to the conflict have been offered mediation; this must be taken up now.
Background information:
In early November, a military conflict broke out between the Government in Addis Ababa and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the northern Ethiopian Tigray region. The conflict is endangering the civilian population and, according to international organisations, has triggered substantial migration, also to the Sudan.
Even before the start of the conflict, almost 20 million people in Ethiopia were dependent on humanitarian assistance. Germany has now made available a total of more than 30 million euro for humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia in 2020.