Oxfam in Ethiopia’s Country Director, Gezahegn Gebrehana, made the following statement:
“Oxfam welcomes today’s announcement from South Africa that the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the TPLF have agreed to a cessation of hostilities during AU mediated peace talks.
“The humanitarian situation in Northern Ethiopia is critical with over 13 million people across Amhara, Afar, and Tigray in urgent need of assistance. Since fighting resumed in August, an additional 574,000 people have been displaced and are in desperate need of food, clean water, shelter, and other essentials.
“While needs have spiked over the last two months, many life-saving humanitarian activities have been suspended due to insecurity and humanitarian agencies’ inability to access sufficient cash, fuel, and supplies to sustain their operations. We believe and hope that both parties will follow upon their respective commitments by immediately facilitating unfettered humanitarian access for relief agencies to refresh their supplies and rapidly scale-up lifesaving aid.”