A new convoy of around forty trucks left on Thursday for the Tigray region, where humanitarian access is still very limited. This is the second World Food Program convoy since a humanitarian truce was announced by the government and Tigrayan rebels last month. Without it being possible to speak of a ceasefire or of peace, these convoys indicate a certain appeasement. On Tuesday, the World Bank even released 300 million dollars for the country.
With our correspondent in Addis Ababa, Noé Hochet-Bodin
This is the first major funding from an international institution to Ethiopia since the start of the civil war in Tigray at the end of 2020.
The 300 million dollars announced by the World Bank are intended to support communities, in particular the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged by war as well as support for victims of sexual violence.
The funding will be directed to five Ethiopian provinces, including Tigray. And important detail, it will be imperative that local partners pay funds to Tigray under penalty of seeing the suspension of aid.
A diplomatic source assures that this funding comes as a reward for discussions between the Tigrayan rebels and the Ethiopian government.
But for the European Commission, this aid is on the contrary counter-productive. The initiative is premature according to Brussels, because the peace process is still in its infancy.