More people may have died in the conflict between the Tigray rebels and the Ethiopian government in recent weeks than in Ukraine. The UN warns of a bloodbath. The international public looks the other way.
It is a war that is taking place far from the eyes of the world public – although it may have claimed more lives than the conflict in Ukraine: in Tigray province in the northern state of Ethiopia in East Africa, fighting between rebels and the central government in Addis Ababa is on the rise, which is supported by neighboring Eritrea. Observers spoke of more than 100,000 deaths in the past few weeks alone. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also found clear words on Monday after the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg: he told journalists the situation had never been worse – neither in military nor humanitarian terms. .
The United Nations has been sounding the alarm for a long time. The World Health Organization has now announced that around 5.2 of the 7 million people in Tigray are dependent on humanitarian aid. UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday that the situation was spiraling out of control. “Violence and destruction in Tigray has reached shocking levels,” said the UN chief. “The social fabric is being torn apart.” Guterres called for an immediate end to hostilities and the withdrawal of Eritrean troops.