France 24 : Tigray rebels looting aid supplies:
Posted: 31 Aug 2021, 19:06
Ethiopia's Tigray rebels looting aid supplies: US agency
Rebels in Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region have been looting aid warehouses, the US aid agency said on Tuesday, calling the alleged thefts a "great concern for humanitarians".
"We know for a fact... that the TPLF (Tigray People's Liberation Front), every town they've gone into they looted the warehouses, they've looted trucks, they've caused a great deal of destruction in all the villages they visited and it's a great concern for humanitarians," Sean Jones, head of the USAID mission in Ethiopia, told Ethiopian state television EBC.
"I do believe that TPLF has been very opportunistic. Maybe they are stealing from citizens, we don't have proof of this.
"What we do have proof of is that several of our warehouses have been looted and completely emptied in the areas, particularly Amhara, the TPLF soldiers have gone into," he said.
The TPLF could not immediately be reached for comment.
Northern Ethiopia has been wracked by violence since November, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray to topple the TPLF, the regional ruling party, saying the move came in response to attacks on army camps.
Although the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner promised a swift victory, the war dragged on for months, triggering a humanitarian crisis in Tigray. The rebels meanwhile have pushed into the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions.
Read more
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/2 ... -us-agency
Rebels in Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region have been looting aid warehouses, the US aid agency said on Tuesday, calling the alleged thefts a "great concern for humanitarians".
"We know for a fact... that the TPLF (Tigray People's Liberation Front), every town they've gone into they looted the warehouses, they've looted trucks, they've caused a great deal of destruction in all the villages they visited and it's a great concern for humanitarians," Sean Jones, head of the USAID mission in Ethiopia, told Ethiopian state television EBC.
"I do believe that TPLF has been very opportunistic. Maybe they are stealing from citizens, we don't have proof of this.
"What we do have proof of is that several of our warehouses have been looted and completely emptied in the areas, particularly Amhara, the TPLF soldiers have gone into," he said.
The TPLF could not immediately be reached for comment.
Northern Ethiopia has been wracked by violence since November, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray to topple the TPLF, the regional ruling party, saying the move came in response to attacks on army camps.
Although the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner promised a swift victory, the war dragged on for months, triggering a humanitarian crisis in Tigray. The rebels meanwhile have pushed into the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions.
Read more
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/2 ... -us-agency
