Tigray war has seen up to half a million dead from violence and starvation, say researchers
As many as 500,000 people have died from war and famine in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia over the past 16 months, researchers say.
The estimate, by experts who have closely monitored the Tigray conflict since its beginning, is a rare attempt to calculate the war-related death toll in a region that has been largely cut off from the outside world.
The estimate includes 50,000 to 100,000 victims of direct killings, 150,000 to 200,000 starvation deaths, and more than 100,000 additional deaths caused by a lack of health care, according to researchers led by Jan Nyssen of Ghent University in Belgium.
The war began when Ethiopia sent its military into Tigray in an attempt to subdue the rebellious regional government in November, 2020. The neighbouring country of Eritrea also sent troops into Tigray, and the war has led to massacres of civilians, destruction of hospitals and clinics, an exodus of refugees and the emergence of famine. Ethiopia has blocked most food aid to the region for months.
Despite the huge death toll, there are growing fears that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will overshadow the Tigray war and other long-running conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, reducing global attention and humanitarian aid for those crises.
Many of the most horrific crises, from Mozambique to Yemen, are in remote regions or countries where access is difficult. The war in Ukraine could further damage the flow of assistance by diverting humanitarian funds and increasing the cost of food and fuel. Some relief agencies are already reporting a decline in funding for their Africa operations as donors switch to Ukraine.
“We are seeing clear evidence of this war draining resources and attention from other trouble spots in desperate need,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told journalists on Monday.
In Ethiopia, authorities have blocked communications and flights into Tigray since the war began, while heavily restricting media access. “The Ethiopian government has been very efficient in shielding Tigray from outside eyes,” Prof. Nyssen said in an interview.
The death toll in Tigray is poorly documented because humanitarian workers were banned from bringing cameras into the region and continue to be threatened with expulsion if they speak out, he said.
Prof. Nyssen and his team have maintained a database of confirmed deaths in Tigray since the war began, in which they recorded 289 incidents causing the deaths of up to 12,478 civilians. But the true number of deaths from violence is far higher, they believe.
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Re: Tigray war has seen up to half a million dead from violence and starvation, say researchers (The Globe and Mail)
Wonder who provided the “news” paper with fake numbers 
sarcasm wrote: ↑15 Mar 2022, 08:40Tigray war has seen up to half a million dead from violence and starvation, say researchers
As many as 500,000 people have died from war and famine in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia over the past 16 months, researchers say.
The estimate, by experts who have closely monitored the Tigray conflict since its beginning, is a rare attempt to calculate the war-related death toll in a region that has been largely cut off from the outside world.
The estimate includes 50,000 to 100,000 victims of direct killings, 150,000 to 200,000 starvation deaths, and more than 100,000 additional deaths caused by a lack of health care, according to researchers led by Jan Nyssen of Ghent University in Belgium.
The war began when Ethiopia sent its military into Tigray in an attempt to subdue the rebellious regional government in November, 2020. The neighbouring country of Eritrea also sent troops into Tigray, and the war has led to massacres of civilians, destruction of hospitals and clinics, an exodus of refugees and the emergence of famine. Ethiopia has blocked most food aid to the region for months.
Despite the huge death toll, there are growing fears that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will overshadow the Tigray war and other long-running conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, reducing global attention and humanitarian aid for those crises.
Many of the most horrific crises, from Mozambique to Yemen, are in remote regions or countries where access is difficult. The war in Ukraine could further damage the flow of assistance by diverting humanitarian funds and increasing the cost of food and fuel. Some relief agencies are already reporting a decline in funding for their Africa operations as donors switch to Ukraine.
“We are seeing clear evidence of this war draining resources and attention from other trouble spots in desperate need,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told journalists on Monday.
In Ethiopia, authorities have blocked communications and flights into Tigray since the war began, while heavily restricting media access. “The Ethiopian government has been very efficient in shielding Tigray from outside eyes,” Prof. Nyssen said in an interview.
The death toll in Tigray is poorly documented because humanitarian workers were banned from bringing cameras into the region and continue to be threatened with expulsion if they speak out, he said.
Prof. Nyssen and his team have maintained a database of confirmed deaths in Tigray since the war began, in which they recorded 289 incidents causing the deaths of up to 12,478 civilians. But the true number of deaths from violence is far higher, they believe.
Continue reading https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/a ... lence-and/
