Mereja.Forum

[sarcasm]

From Tigray to Gaza: Rising use of aid blockades as war strategy, global response under scrutiny (Addis Standard)

Addis Abeba – Food is back on the battlefield, and food security is no longer just a humanitarian issue: it is now a systematic, political, and strategic problem. From Tigray and Aleppo to Mariupol and now Gaza, hunger is increasingly used as a military weapon—no longer merely a consequence of war, but an instrument of it. According to the United Nations (UN), 70% of the 319 million people facing acute hunger are located in fragile or conflict-hit countries. Yet, the world is simultaneously attempting to build food systems that are resilient, sustainable, and capable of providing access and dignity. This paradox was laid bare in Addis Abeba during the recently concluded UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4), co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy.

The summit assessed both progress and setbacks since the inaugural 2021 Food Systems Summit, which had identified food security as a pillar of global policy. It strongly reaffirmed the need to transform global food systems as a comprehensive response to climate, economic, and geopolitical crises. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, speaking via video, warned that “hunger fuels instability and undermines peace.” Maximo Torero, FAO’s Chief Economist, echoed the urgency with Reuters: If conflicts continue to rise, recent gains will be erased.”

The connection between conflict and hunger became painfully evident during the two-year war in Tigray, which later spread to the Amhara and Afar regions. Since the outbreak of the war in 2020, the international community and donors have consistently voiced concern over the blockade of humanitarian access to conflict-affected regions. In May 2021, the United States announced that it was “gravely concerned by the increasing number of confirmed cases of military forces blocking humanitarian access to parts of the Tigray region.” The statement emphasized that the blockade placed 5.2 million people—already in urgent need of humanitarian aid—at even greater risk.

In September 2022, the European Union (EU) also expressed its alarm over “totally blocked” humanitarian access in Tigray. The EU further noted “the deterioration of the humanitarian operating environment” in the Amhara and Afar regions following the resumption of militarized hostilities. Despite the war ending in November 2022 following the signing of the Pretoria Peace Agreement, internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Tigray still continue to face severe hunger and inadequate access to medical care, as humanitarian conditions worsen under the prolonged suspension of aid.



Continue reading https://addisstandard.com/from-tigray-t ... r-scrutiny

[Dama]

War crime is allowed against a war-mongering populations. It's only forbidden against innocents.