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The World Food Programme (WFP) affirms the need for strong partnership between the government of Ethiopia and the entire humanitarian community to rapidly scale up a collective response to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of people in Tigray.

WFP announced preparations to provide humanitarian assistance with a budget of 400 US Dollars to the people in need of support in Tigray region.

There have been recent positive engagements with the Government of Ethiopia by senior UN officials, including the Under-Secretary General for Safety and Security, the High Commissioner for Refugees, and the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, WFP said in a statement.

“These engagements have acknowledged the commendable measures being undertaken by the Government and partners to address humanitarian needs in Tigray. They have also concluded that humanitarian assistance must be expanded and intensified without delay.” the statement says.

WFP commends the emergency food assistance that the Government and partners have already provided to the people of Tigray since the onset of the crisis, reaching almost 1.7 million people with emergency food distributions. 26,000 Eritrean refugees residing in two camps have also received food and nutrition assistance.

WFP has indicated to the Government its readiness to add to these efforts and has accordingly accepted requests from the Government to augment the transportation capacity of the Government and partners to deliver humanitarian assistance into and within Tigray, especially in

WFP will continue to provide food assistance to Eritrean refugees in Tigray region, working closely with the Government’s Agency for Refugee and Returnee Affairs and the UN Refugee Agency.

WFP will also continue to procure and deliver food supplies on behalf of the Government, including 300,000 metric tons of wheat scheduled for delivery from February.

So far 1.8 million of people in need in the Tigray Region have received humanitarian support.

The government of Ethiopia stated there is a supply stock in Mekele City to support 2.5 Million people for the next two months.

WFP Director Dr.  David Beasley, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ethiopia, Catherine Sozi along with Ethiopian Peace Minister, Muferihat Kamil have observed the humanitarian activities in Tigray.

The 34th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, underway virtually, has re-elected H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat as the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson.

“Deeply humbled by the overwhelming and historic vote of confidence by AU Member States by voting 51 out 55 to extend my mandate at the helm of the AUC Commission for another 4 years,” he tweeted later.

Following the news of the re-election of the AUC Chairperson, Prime Minister H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed congratulated Moussa Faki on his Twitter page and said, “Ethiopia wishes you the best.”

Her. E. Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa of Rwanda was elected as deputy Chairperson of the Commission.

In the opening remarks that he had delivered earlier to the Assembly, Moussa Faki Mahamat said the new Commission of the AU will have the task of completing the institutional reforms of the AU, fulfill the expectations of member states and implement the flagship projects of Agenda 2063.

This decision reflects Ethiopia’s commitment to maintaining the standard save travel protocols and procedures as we reopen our doors to tourism and international visitors, Hailemariam Desalegn, Chairman of Ethiopian Tourism Board.

Ethiopia has become the latest destination to be awarded the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Safe Travels Stamp – the world’s first-ever global safety and hygiene stamp.

The grant has come following major steps implemented by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism last year to ensure safety for residents, travellers, and workers and businesses in the tourism value chain, as Ethiopia reopened its borders to international visitors, it is indicated.

Hailemariam Desalegn, the former Prime Minister of Ethiopia an Chairman of the Ethiopian Tourism Board, said: “We are extremely honoured to be issued the Safe Travels stamp by the WTTC and commend them for this important initiative.”

“This decision reflects Ethiopia’s commitment to maintaining the standard safe travel protocols and procedures as we reopen our doors to tourism and international visitors. With the aim of ensuring the safety of workers and visitors, we will continue to work closely with tour operators, hotels, and regional destination marketing organisations to maintain these standards.”, he added.

Dr. Hirut Kassaw, Minister of Culture Tourism, and Sport said: “Tourism is a Strategic priority for the government and significantly contributes to the development of our national economy. We have created a partnership with the private sector and responded quickly on COVID-19 safety measures.”

The Minister added saying: “With the current success in obtaining the safe travel stamp, I am confident that appropriate measures will be taken to ensure the health and safety of tourists and destinations nationwide. We are now ready to welcome tourists to visit Ethiopia.”

Sileshi Girma, the CEO of Tourism Ethiopia, to his part, said health and safety issues are at the forefront of the travel and tourism sector, adding that destinations and industry operators are now well prepared to implement safety protocols.

WTTC, which represents the global Travel and Tourism private sector, created the Safe Travels Stamp in May 2020, to restore traveller confidence by allowing travelers to identify destinations and businesses around the world which have adopted the global standardized health and hygiene protocols.

The globally recognized Stamp has also helped revive the global travel and tourism sector, which has been left devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eligible businesses in Ethiopia such as hotels, restaurants, airlines, tour operators, restaurants, outdoor shopping, transportation, and airports, will be able to use the stamp once the health and hygiene protocols, outlined by WTTC, have been implemented, it is learned.

It is to be recalled that criminal investigation is underway for grave offences committed by the leadership of the TPLF as well as former national defense and police force members loyal to the TPLF. A Taskforce composed of the Ethiopian National Defense Force, the Office of the Federal Attorney General, the Federal Police and other relevant security institutions is conducting the investigation.

The investigation so far has established the commission of three major crimes: High Treason, Crimes against the Constitutional Order, and Terrorism.

349 suspects have been identified and a court order for their detention has been issued in accordance with the laws of the nation. From these suspects, 253 are retired and active members of the Ethiopian National Defense Force and Federal Police and 96 are key members and top leadership of the TPLF. So far, 680 documentary evidences and testimonies of witnesses have been collected and 124 suspects have been detained as per the courts’ order.

The investigation further uncovered that the November 3rd treasonous act committed by the rogue members of the Ethiopian National Defense Force against the Northern Command by the order of the TPLF leadership, was not an isolated and spontaneous attack. According to the evidences collected by the investigation team, TPLF had prepared a detailed plan to stage an armed insurrection, as a continuation and finale of the violence it has been financing and orchestrating to derail the reforms for the last three years. In order to achieve its goal, the TPLF leadership and its accomplices had first established an Operation Division composed of the Tigray Regional State Militia under the leadership of General Haile Selassie Girmay. It then changed its structure to Central Command of Tigray and made Lieutenant General Taddesse Werede its commander through an official letter issued by Dr. Debretsion G/Michael, the then Vice President of the Tigray Regional State. The entire structure of the Central Command of Tigray was organized in such a manner that it mimics the exact structure of the Ethiopian National Defense force.

Furthermore, investigations reveal that prior to the change of administration at the federal level in 2018, the Tigray Regional State had recruited close to 5000 militia members per annum while after the reform, it recruited 47,173 and 37,373 militia members respectively per annum in the year of 2018 and 2019 alone. These massive recruitments resulted in a situation where the TPLF was able to command an irregular militia force with more than 170,000 members.

Similarly, before 2018, the regional state engaged in recruitment of about 450 Special Force members per annum. After the change in administration that occurred in 2018, the TPLF dramatically scaled up its recruitment to 5000 per annum. The Special force, under the Central Command was organized in 8 Divisions and 23 Regiments.

These strategies and pre-meditated plans and actions clearly show that TPLF undertook a massive preparation to wage war against the Federal Government and other regional administrations with a view to regain its dominant position at the center which it had lost due to peaceful popular demands and reform initiatives.

Another key finding of the investigation is that TPLF was the mastermind for the communal conflicts and atrocities committed in various parts of the nation. TPLF had sponsored different communal conflicts and backed armed rebel groups to inflict atrocious attacks against innocent civilians. According to the evidences collected, several actors behind communal conflicts and armed attacks against innocent civilians around the nation had received training and financial backing of the TPLF to conduct the atrocious attacks. The TPLF leadership endorsed and provided tangible support to those orchestrating violent conflict in various parts of the country.

Concerning the Mai Kadra massacre, the investigation team has identified 279 suspects who were directly involved in the ethnically motivated massacre out of which only 36 had been detained. The rest are believed to have fled to Sudan claiming a refugee status. So far, 117 graves for victims of the massacre had been identified and have been uncovered and are undergoing forensic investigations.

The objectives of the Investigation are to hold accountable the perpetrators of the above-mentioned heinous crimes; to set the record straight on the atrocities committed by TPLF by documenting the truth for the benefit of future generation and the national reconciliation and healing efforts; and to recover embezzled public assets from the perpetrators and their affiliates.