Speaking in Geneva on 6 January, at an online briefing hosted by the Geneva Press Club, Ethiopia’s human rights commissioner, Daniel Bekele, said greater access to media, human rights groups, and international organisations should be allowed. Local authorities estimate 4.5 million people in Tigray are in need of assistance, of whom 2.2 million are displaced, the report notes. There are about five million people in Tigray, according to the Red Cross. The UN’s human rights body has called for Ethiopia to allow independent human rights groups to monitor and investigate. In western Tigray, aid groups have reported that permissions issued by Addis Ababa have been rejected by forces on the ground, requiring a further layer of negotiations for humanitarian access, according to a restricted OCHA report, obtained by The New Humanitarian.

Source: Ethiopian News January 12, 2021 14:48 UTC