Extended conflicts in Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia have put 2.3 million children in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
Tigrayan and Ethiopian forces have been locked in conflicts since November 4, when Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed ordered the launching of military operations against the powerful region.
“Inside the Tigray region, restricted access and the ongoing communication blackout have left an estimated 2.3 million children in need of humanitarian assistance and out of reach,” UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore said.
A dramatic escalation of hostilities between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has seen hundreds of locals dead while thousands have fled for safety to neighbouring Sudan.
The UN agency said those taking refuge in Sudan are also in dire need of assistance with about half of them being children.
The agency said “some 12,000 children – some of them without parents or relatives – are among those sheltering in camps and registration centres and are at risk.”
UNICEF has charged the warring parties to leave children out of their conflict and protect them as much as possible.
“Every effort should be made to keep children out of harm’s way, and to ensure that they are protected from recruitment and use in the conflict,” she said.