Aid groups warn time running out in conflict-hit Tigray

Humanitarian agencies say they struggle to reach people in need, warn of ‘drastic’ deterioration unless things change.

Aid groups have renewed calls for unimpeded humanitarian access to reach hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region, days after the federal government in Addis Ababa declared a unilateral ceasefire in the eight-month conflict as rebel forces retook the regional capital, Mekelle. The government in Addis Ababa described its “withdrawal” as a strategic move and said it was taken partly on humanitarian grounds, aimed at facilitating agricultural production in the mountainous region. It said the ceasefire announced on Monday would remain in place until the farming season concludes in September. But Getachew Reda, a spokesman for Tigrayan forces, rejected the government’s ceasefire declaration as a “sick joke” and said they would not stop until they fully regain the region. Getachew further said the federal forces were forced out of Mekelle but were still fighting to recapture territory, adding that their Eritrean allies still control a “significant part” of Tigray.