European Union Freezes Millions of Aid to Ethiopia, ‘The Prime Minister Should Respect the Nobel Prize’

The European Union calls on the Ethiopian government to grant relief agencies access to the northern Tigray region, where millions of people have fled their homes due to the fighting between the Ethiopian army and the rebels. Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said that as long as this access is not granted, the European Union will suspend some 88 million euros in aid to the country.

The European Union had promised to provide money, among other things, to receive refugees in Ethiopia. Borrell wrote, in a blog post, that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed should now “honor the Nobel Peace Prize he received in 2019” and do his best to end the conflict in Tigray.

The situation escalated in the northern region in early November, when Prime Minister Abe dispatched forces to target TPLF rebels, who had allegedly attacked a military base shortly before. The fighting that followed took the lives of thousands of people. Millions of people have fled, including more than 50,000 who have crossed into neighboring Sudan.

The fights continue

In late November, the Ethiopian government said the rebels had been defeated, but according to the United Nations, there are indications of continued fighting in different parts of Tigray.

A week ago, the United Nations reported that nearly 2.5 million people in the region needed, among other things, food aid. Despite an agreement with the Ethiopian government regarding access to refugees in Tigray, it is still not possible, according to the United Nations, to provide emergency aid in a number of refugee camps on the border with Eritrea.