This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.
‘No end’ to conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, warns UNICEF
Disturbing reports have continued to emerge of widespread abuse including sexual violence against civilians in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
The development comes nearly six months since conflict erupted there, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday
“There is no end in sight” to the conflict, said agency spokesperson James Elder, after returning from a visit to northern Ethiopia.
Among the many child victims was a 16-year-old girl called Merhawit, Mr. Elder told journalists in Geneva:
“She had walked 300 kilometres with her baby brother on her back from the west of country, amid pretty intense fighting, there was 300 kilometres and in broken flipflops. Those stories abound. She was, you know, a star in physics and now she is searching for food and hasn’t seen a classroom in a year.”
More than a million people have been displaced and continuing fighting has restricted humanitarian access – and the opportunity for people to return home, according to the UN agency.
Sexual violence and gang-rape is likely widespread, with one centre for survivors taking three witness statements per day, between the start of the year and April.
The conflict is the result of months of escalating tensions between the Ethiopian Government and the dominant regional force, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which culminated in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordering a military offensive after rebels attacked a federal army base in November.
Central African Republic clashes force thousands across border to Chad
Fighting between Government forces and rebels in northern Central African Republic (CAR) has forced more than 2,000 refugees into neighbouring Chad in the past week, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.
Those reaching Chad reported fleeing clashes, as well as pillaging, extortion and other acts of violence at the hands of rebel groups.
Most of the displaced are from CAR’s Kaga-Bandoro, Batangafo and Kabo regions – and they risked their lives crossing the Grande Sido river to reach safety, said spokesperson Babar Baloch:
“To reach Chad, people had to wade shoulder-deep through the Grande Sido river, with some carrying their few belongings on their heads. The refugees are now settled in Gandaza village and the bordering town of Sido, although some are having to resort to crossing back into CAR to find food or salvage what little is left from their properties.”
Chad hosts close to 11,000 of the 117,000 Central African nationals who have fled violence to Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of the Congo (ROC) since post-election violence in December.
WFP inks deal to supply food to 185,000 children in Venezuela
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has signed an agreement with the Government of Venezuela to provide school meals to the country’s most vulnerable children, it said on Tuesday.
The goal is to reach 185,000 students by year’s end and 1.5 million by the end of the next school year.
It follows a meeting on Monday between WFP Executive Director David Beasley and President Nicolas Maduro. The WFP chief also met Venezuelan opposition leader, Juan Guaido.
WFP spokesperson Tomson Phiri told journalists in Geneva that about one in three Venezuelans is food insecure, including 2.3 million people who are severely food insecure.
To match the needs of the project, WFP’s funding requirements are $190 million a year.
Daniel Johnson, UN News.
