Ethiopia in tightrope with UN & US


  U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the government of Ethiopia “to allow the urgent delivery of aid “without hindrance” and the “unrestricted movement of desperately needed fuel, cash, communications equipment and humanitarian supplies” into Tigray, Amhara and Afar.” He added that “The people of Ethiopia are suffering. We have no other interest but to help stop that suffering.”

 Ethiopian government last week expelled seven senior U.N. officials for meddling in internal affairs.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield described the Ethiopian move to expel the U.N. officials as “reckless,” and “There’s no justification for the government of Ethiopia’s action, none at all.”

Any strong action is unlikely as Russia and China have made clear they believe the Tigray conflict is an internal affair for Ethiopia. China’s U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun on Wednesday called for “quiet diplomacy in order to prevent a deadlock” over the expulsion of the U.N. officials.

“Ethiopian children are starving. People are dying because they cannot access food, water and basic health care. This is not a situation caused by natural disasters. It is caused by those who continue to choose the path of war,” Ireland’s UN Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nanson told the council.