ADDIS ABABA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Fuel shortage is hindering relief operations in northern Ethiopia, the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has warned.
In its latest situation report for northern Ethiopia, the UN body said Friday evening that the lack of sufficient fuel availability is hindering relief operations especially health-related in Ethiopia's Tigray and Amhara regions.
"Ayder hospital in Mekelle city, the biggest referral hospital in the Tigray region, serving more than 300,000 patients is reportedly at risk of closure due to lack of fuel," the UNOCHA report disclosed.
The hospital has reportedly grounded 70 percent of their vehicles while the remaining operating 30 percent requires 1,300 liters of fuel a week for medical transport and to run the ambulances and emergency service, according to the report.
"Fuel availability is also a concern in Amhara region, with humanitarian partners required to seek a letter from the region's department of trade and industry before fueling their vehicles in areas around Sekota, Lalibela and Gashena cities, impacting the humanitarian operations in the region," said the UNOCHA report.
The UNOCHA report said the overall operating environment in northern Ethiopia remains constrained, by lack of essential services and functional markets, as well as inability to bring sufficient supplies of fuel and cash to Tigray region. Remoteness of some areas and limited presence of humanitarian partners on the ground in some areas are additional hindrances for relief operations in northern Ethiopia.
Humanitarian aid is recently heading to Ethiopia's northernmost Tigray region after the Ethiopian government and the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) agreed to a conditional cessation of hostilities and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid into the region.
The TPLF and the Ethiopian National Defense Force, backed by allied forces, have been engaged in a 19-month conflict that has reportedly left tens of thousands of people dead and millions of others in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
The Ethiopian parliament designated the TPLF as a terrorist organization in May 2021. ■