Ethiopia: Salsay Weyane Tigray Warns of ‘Rapidly Escalating Death Toll’ in IDP Camps, Cites Stalled Implementation of Coha and Risk of Renewed Conflict
Addis Abeba– Salsay Weyane Tigray, an opposition party operating in the Tigray region, has warned of a “rapidly escalating death toll” in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps across the region, citing critical shortages of essential supplies and a deteriorating humanitarian situation.
In a statement issued on May 12, the party said “millions of IDPs and refugees” are living in “abject squalor,” and warned that “the prospects for both short- and long-term relief are vanishing rapidly” due to “a clear lack of political will and the looming threat of renewed conflict.”
The party attributed the crisis to a “dangerous impasse” in the implementation of the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) and “escalating tensions between the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments.” These developments, it said, “directly threaten to reignite a far deadlier conflict,” with the potential to turn “war-torn Tigray into a devastating battleground once more.”
Salsay Weyane Tigray called on the international community to “immediately address these simmering humanitarian and security challenges with the seriousness they deserve,” and urged the Ethiopian government and regional actors to “commit to peaceful means of resolving their differences before it is too late.”
The party also criticized what it described as the international community’s “deafening silence,” calling it “unacceptable and deeply concerning.”
The statement comes amid worsening humanitarian conditions across the Tigray region, compounded by the ongoing suspension of U.S. humanitarian aid.
Addis Standard previously reported that at least eight displaced individuals died from hunger and lack of medical care over a three-month period in IDP centers in Axum town, central Tigray. Kahsay Asayehegn, coordinator for displaced persons in the Axum Cluster of the Western Tigray Zone, said the deceased succumbed to “hunger” and “lack of medicine,” while others remain exposed to “cold, illness, and the risk of flooding” as heavy rainfall continues.
The situation has been further compounded by the suspension of U.S. humanitarian assistance. Aid cuts–triggered by an executive order under the Trump administration, including disruptions to USAID’s payment systems–have affected food and essential service delivery for millions across the region.
Teklewoini Assefa, head of the Relief Society of Tigray, told The Independent that the halt in USAID’s payment system has forced aid agencies to suspend distributions. “This will create malnutrition, disease,” he warned, adding, “If this situation continues, what follows? Death.”
The suspension has also impacted health care, education, and psychosocial support services for survivors of war and sexual violence.
Crédito: Link de origem