US AND IOM DELIVER EMERGENCY SHELTER FOR ETHIOPIANS AFFECTED BY TIGRAY CONFLICT

Fri 16 April 2021:

The United States provided supplies that will be used to build a temporary shelter for more than 80,000 people who had been forced to flee their homes after the conflict broke out in Ethiopia’s Tigray, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday.

“IOM today received over 1,500 rolls of heavy-duty plastic sheeting from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) that will be used to provide temporary shelter relief to more than 80,000 people displaced by conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia,” IOM said in a press release.

“Over the past five months, the United States has been working tirelessly with our Ethiopian and international partners to provide emergency assistance to the 4.5 million Ethiopians affected by the crisis in Tigray,” US Ambassador to Ethiopia Geeta Pasi told IOM Chief of Mission Maureen Achieng and Commissioner Mitiku from Ethiopia’s National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) at a warehouse in Addis Ababa.

“USAID’s airlift of durable plastic sheeting is on top of the already USD 305 million of humanitarian aid.”

The donated supplies include sleeping mats, blankets, kitchen sets and cooking utensils.

The supplies will be immediately transported and distributed across Tigray, where conflict has forced an estimated one million people to flee their homes.

Fighting in Tigray broke out in November after the Ethiopian government accused the local ruling party – the Tigray People’s Liberation Front – of attacking a regional military base to hijack weapons and arm an anti-government militia. International human rights groups have alleged possible grave crimes in Tigray against civilians, including committed by Eritrean troops.