Dear reader,

In this Tigray Digest, we come with the latest news regarding the hunger crisis, as the WFP food aid has still not resumed (section 1). Further we address the accountability for war crimes (section 2), and the occupation of Western Tigray that has not been lifted despite the CoHA (section 3). We announce some upcoming conferences where the Tigray crisis will or could usefully be discussed (section 4); and we congratulate all colleagues who published new papers on the humanitarian situation in Tigray in high-impact scientific journals (section 5). The last section provides links to some other recommended publications.

Au Tigré, toujours en proie à la famine, l’aide alimentaire a été suspendue

Hunger and starvation in Tigray

“The World” is a broadly listened public radio magazine in the US and Canada. Early July, they have interviewed Cameron Hudson, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, on the interruption of WFP food assistance and the food crisis in Tigray. Please take five minutes to listen to Cameron Hudson’s very sharp analysis: The World, 5 July 2023. 200% increase in ‘severe acute malnutrition’ in Tigray, UN says

'Not on my watch:' WFP executive director McCain vows Ethiopia food theft won't happen again. However, she declined to provide a timeline for when the new tracking and tracing system would be rolled out and food distribution could resume in Ethiopia. She said the government ‘is becoming more transparent’ and is ‘willing to work with us a little more,’ but that WFP still needs ‘assurance’ (Devex, 19 July 2023).

Getachew Reda, president of the Tigray Interim Administration, participated in a large Tigray meeting at Denver (US) on 22 July and stated that one of the things he wanted to do during his stay in the US is to discuss with USAID and US government the possibility of reconsidering the decisions they made regarding food aid. There are doubts in some quarters whether he might manage to secure these meetings, because the US would be wary of ruffling feathers with Addis Ababa.

And also:

Reuters, 10 July 2023: Hunger haunts Ethiopia's Tigray region after years of war (with video report)
The Guardian, 29 June 2023: ‘We blame government and aid agencies’: food relief thefts in Ethiopia leave those in need with nothing
Jan Nyssen, André Crismer: Au Tigré, toujours en proie à la famine, l’aide alimentaire a été suspendue (La Libre Belgique) [in French] (In Tigray, still plagued by famine, food aid has been suspended)
Vatican News, 4 July 2023: Caritas: Food aid suspension in Ethiopia is 'inhumane'
Addis Standard, 29 June 2023: Tragedy strikes Abiy Addi IDP Camp as hunger claims hundreds of lives in Tigray, thousands remain in peril
AFP, 4 July 2023: Ethiopia's Tigray sees 'sharp increase' in hunger: UN
Tigrai Television, 9 July 2023: Tigray Health Research Institute reveals 88% of households in Tigrai affected by food insecurity
Addis Standard, 7 July 2023: MSF pleads for immediate resumption of food distributions after recording alarming rise of acute malnutrition in Ethiopia
Lord Alton questioned the UK Minister of Foreign Affairs about when the UN’s food assistance in Tigray will be restored – reponse: When the investigation into corruption is completed. Starvation is the consequence….

Accountability for war crimes

We need to continue insisting on the gravity of human rights abuses that have occurred in the Tigray War. In Ethiopia, accountability, reparations, and atonement for the wrongdoers are necessary for reconciliation to occur.

Kenya Human Rights Commission, 10 July 2023: First-of-its-Kind Civil Society Monitor Finds Disturbing Gaps in Tigray Peace Deal
Aaron Maasho and Martin Witteveen: An indifferent world looks on as Ethiopia obstructs justice for Tigray (The Guardian)
New Lines Magazine, 18 July 2023: The Sexually Violated Women of Tigray Demand Justice
BBC, 7 July 2023: Ethiopia Church apologises to followers in Tigray over war. (Note that the apology concerns failure to deliver humanitarian assistance, but not their overall support for the war on Tigray.)
Addis Standard, 11 July 2023: Orthodox Patriarch, delegation return to Addis without meeting Tigray religious leaders
Ethiopian Watch (African Civil Society Organisations): Monitoring of Six Commitments Under the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement
The Luminos Fund, 29 June 2023: Examining Levels of Learning Loss, Trauma, and Resilience in Children, Parents, and Teachers in Tigray, Ethiopia

Infographic depicting six key findings from the the summary report on learning loss, trauma, and resilience in Tigray, Ethiopia.

Western Tigray

On 18 July, the Ethiopian Cable published an editorial “Ahistorical claims to western Tigray”, in which our work on historical maps is largely cited. I can forward the Ethiopian Cable (Issue 190) upon request.

The database itself has also been strongly expanded, yet confirming the earlier findings: Nyssen, Jan. (2023). Western Tigray in 165 historical and 33 ethno-linguistic maps (1475-2014) (v. 7.1). Zenodo.