Ethiopia: Tigray Faces a Double Catastrophe - War and Worsening Hunger

Mekelle, Ethiopia - After a decade-long conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, a new humanitarian crisis has emerged, compounding the existing food shortage. While the region's peace agreement from 2022 ended the war, it failed to address the country's underlying problems. With the recent resurgence of hostilities, the double disaster of war and worsening famine looms over the already devastated region.

The previously stable Tigray has experienced complete crop failure, leaving an estimated 44% of its prime farmland inaccessible. Farmers in the affected areas have found their farms and communities in ruins. The climate shock, brought about by the early cessation of the Azmera rains, has exacerbated the situation, with the El Niño weather pattern further damaging the fragile agricultural recovery.

Over 252,500 hectares of planted crops have been destroyed, and more than 3.5 million head of livestock are facing starvation and disease. With the September harvest failing and livestock-to-grain terms of trade collapsing, 3.9 million people, more than half of Tigray's population, require immediate emergency food assistance.

The renewed conflict, attributed to the ground offensive by the anti-government coalition, the Alliance for Survival, has disrupted humanitarian operations. Coalition forces seized control of Tigray's regional airports and severed regional telecommunications. Federal authorities froze bank accounts linked to Tigray, further crippling the region's economy. As the humanitarian response was paralyzed, armed groups looted government buildings and aid facilities in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray.