Mark Lowcock, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told the Security Council that there was no evidence of a promised withdrawal of Eritrean troops from the region. He said people were dying of hunger in the northern Tigray area, where the humanitarian situation has deteriorated and sexual violence is still being used as a weapon of war.
Lowcock gave a sobering assessment of the situation on the ground in Tigray during the closed-door meeting, the first in more than a month, requested by the United States.
"Unfortunately, I must say that neither the UN nor any of the humanitarian agencies we work with have seen proof of Eritrean withdrawal," Lowcock said.
I strongly condemn recent attacks against aid workers in Ethiopia. This week alone, @MSF was beaten and witnessed extrajudicial killings in #Tigray, and yesterday @GOAL_Global said a driver was killed by gunmen in Benishangul Gumuz.
— Mark Lowcock (@UNReliefChief) March 27, 2021
Aid workers must never be a target.
"Without a ceasefire, this already-grave humanitarian crisis is only going to get a lot worse," said Lowcock, who this week received the first report of four internally displaced people dying from hunger.
"I again reiterate the need for Eritrean Defense Forces to halt atrocities and withdraw. Announcing it is not the same as doing it."
The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said in a statement that Washington was "horrified by the reports of rape and other unspeakably cruel sexual violence that continue to surface," as she warned that Eritrea "must withdraw its forces from Ethiopia immediately."
Today in the UN Security Council, I reiterated the urgency of addressing the crisis in Tigray. We continue to call for an end to the hostilities, the withdrawal of Eritrean forces, and for the Ethiopian government to hold those responsible for human rights violations accountable. https://t.co/z0fNQjQGQi
— Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) April 15, 2021
Sexual violence as a weapon of war
The Eritrean government has denied reports that Eritreans have committed abuses against civilians, including mass killings and rapes.
But the UN's chief humanitarian said sexual violence was on the rise in Tigray.
"There is no doubt that sexual violence is being used in this conflict as a weapon of war, as a means to humiliate, terrorise and traumatise an entire population today and into the next generation," Lowcock said, adding that majority of rapes were being perpetrated by the military.
"Cases reported have involved Ethiopian National Defence Forces, Eritrean Defence Forces, Amhara Special Forces and other irregular armed groups or aligned militia.
"Fighting needs to stop," Lowcock said, calling for humanitarian assistance to "dramatically scale up".
As many as nine in 10 of the region's population of six million are estimated by the government to need emergency food assistance, he said
Eritrean Defence Forces directly accused
Lowcock said there have been reports of Eritrean soldiers wearing Ethiopian uniforms, adding: "Regardless of uniform or insignia, humanitarian staff continue to report new atrocities which they say are being committed by Eritrean Defence Forces.
"But the Eritreans are not the sole actor," he said. "There are reports of civilians being attacked and driven from their homes in western Tigray by Amhara militias, and Amhara authorities are restricting access to those people."
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray in November to detain and disarm leaders of the once dominant regional ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
He said the move came in response to TPLF-orchestrated attacks on federal army camps.
