GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. health agency says it has been granted access to send medical supplies to Ethiopia's embattled Tigray region for the first time in six months, but fuel shortages are hampering distribution. An airlift of the supplies through the U.N.'s World Food Program began Friday, and they are part of 33.5 metric tons of planned shipments, the agency said. Months of political tensions between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and the Tigray leaders who once dominated Ethiopia’s government — which included Tedros — exploded into war in November 2020. Political Cartoons on World Leaders View All 112 ImagesPolitical Cartoons View All 419 ImagesIn June, Ethiopia’s government cut off almost all access to food aid, medical supplies, cash and fuel in Tigray. WFP said last month that three-quarters of Tigray’s population of 6 million are “using extreme coping strategies to survive” and more than a third “are suffering an extreme lack of food.”

Source: Ethiopian News February 15, 2022 03:14 UTC