United Nations, September 22: The delivery of humanitarian supplies and fuel into Ethiopia's Tigray region remains heavily constrained while the spillover of conflict into neighboring Amhara and Afar increased the number of people in need of urgent assistance, said UN humanitarians on Tuesday.
On Monday, 61 trucks with humanitarian supplies arrived in Tigray via Afar. This is the first convoy to arrive since Sept. 7, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The latest arrival brings the number of humanitarian trucks that have entered Tigray since July 12 to 525. But 100 trucks are needed daily to meet the needs, said OCHA.
The last fuel tanker entered Tigray on July 29, more than seven weeks ago. Nine tankers are stranded in Semera in Afar region, pending government approval. On Friday, the last remaining World Food Programme fuel tanker in Mekelle, the capital city of Tigray, which other agencies were relying on, was depleted, said OCHA.
The UN Humanitarian Air Service continues to operate two passenger flights per week between Addis Ababa and Mekelle, it said.
Despite the depletion of stocks and resources, partners continued to distribute supplies in Tigray, and food, nutrition, non-food items, and other essential assistance in Afar and Amhara, it said.
The United Nations welcomes the arrival of an additional 61 trucks to Tigray, and urgently calls on all parties to allow unimpeded and sustained access to people in Tigray, Amhara and Afar, said the office.
Source: Xinhua