NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Hunger has killed at least 700 people in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region in recent weeks after the United States and the United Nations paused food aid, local officials and researchers say. The U.N. and the U.S. first suspended food aid to Tigray in March after the discovery of a scheme to steal donated wheat intended for needy people. In mid-March, U.S. aid officials found enough food aid for 134,000 people for sale in a local market in Shire, the zone’s biggest town. Aid workers have told The Associated Press, which first reported the food aid theft, that senior Ethiopian government officials were deeply involved. The U.S. is refusing to reinstate food aid until they are removed from the aid distribution process and stronger checks are introduced.

Source: Ethiopian News June 27, 2023 12:27 UTC