Ethiopia denies it's trying to 'suffocate' Tigray region

Ethiopia’s government is defending itself from accusations that it’s trying to “suffocate the Tigray people” by denying them desperately needed food and other aid

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Ethiopia’s government on Friday rejected accusations that it’s trying to “suffocate the Tigray people” by denying them urgently needed food and other aid, even though transport and communications links remained severed to the region that faces a famine crisis. Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen spoke to reporters a day after a bridge that’s crucial for accessing much of the region of 6 million people was destroyed and the United Nations indicated that special forces from the neighboring Amhara region were to blame. Amhara authorities have occupied western Tigray and forced out hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tigrayans. “The insinuation that we are trying to suffocate the Tigrayan people by denying humanitarian access and using hunger as a weapon of war is beyond the pale. There is absolutely no reason for us to do so. These are our people,” Demeke said. The U.N. Security Council was expected to discuss Tigray on Friday, France’s U.N. ambassador - the council’s current president - said Thursday.