The head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said she had raised concerns about “dehumanising rhetoric” with Ethiopian authorities and also called on rebel forces to “immediately” withdraw from two regions bordering the country’s war-hit Tigray.
Wednesday’s call by Samantha Power came as the conflict threatens to envelop other parts of the country and humanitarian groups struggle to reach cut-off populations.
1. “People are dying because of starvation. In Adwa people are dying while they are sleeping.” This man-made famine needs to end & food needs to be allowed into Tigray. Take action. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @RepKarenBass @RepBera @KenyaMissionUN https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55695123
2. The intentional starving of millions in #Tigray is a crime that can’t go unpunished. @AbiyAhmedAli needs to be held accountable! #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @IlhanMN @CoryBooker @SenSchumer @RepJeffries @AOC https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/29548/in-the-tigray-war-weaponized-starvation-takes-a-devastating-toll
3. Investing in @ethiotelecom while @AbiyAhmedAli is orchestrating a genocidal war will cause more instability in the Horn of Africa. Is your governance truly aligned with the @WorldBank mission? #TigrayGenocide @DavidMalpassWBG @wallyadeyemo @SecYellen https://apnews.com/article/ethiopia-tigray-minority-ethnic-cleansing-sudan-world-news-842741eebf9bf0984946619c0fc15023
4. The manufactured famine in Tigray is being used as collective punishment. This is an internationally recognized crime against humanity & the perpetrators need to be held accountable! #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @SenSchumer @RepJeffries @AOC https://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/files/2021/04/Starving-Tigray-report-final.pdf
5. Women, children & the elderly are among the most affected group in @AbiyAhmedAli’s man-made famine in Tigray. These civilians are in need of emergency aid. Enough words, we need action! #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide@ChrisCoons @SpeakerPelosi @GCR2P https://www.voanews.com/ethiopia-tigray/un-hunger-rape-rising-ethiopias-tigray
6. The Ethiopian & Eritrean govt. have dismantled Tigray’s economic & food system, leaving millions to starve in silence. How many people need to die before any action is taken? #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @JoeBiden @USAmbUN @EUatUN @SVG_UN @AOC https://www.theafricareport.com/77725/famine-in-tigray-i-have-never-documented-anything-as-relentless-systematic-as-what-were-seeing/
7. Tigray’s man-made famine is part of a genocidal campaign by @AbiyAhmedAli. He is weaponizing hunger by blocking the humanitarian corridor for more than 5 months. This is a punishable war crime. Act now! #StopStarvingTigray @IntlCrimCourt @HouseForeign https://www.voanews.com/ethiopia-tigray/un-hunger-rape-rising-ethiopias-tigray
8. “Tigrayans are hungry today because starvation is being used as a weapon of war—relentlessly & systematically.” How are you using your power to stop this? #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @JoeBiden @VP @SecBlinken @jakejsullivan @ambassadorRice https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/29548/in-the-tigray-war-weaponized-starvation-takes-a-devastating-toll#:~:text=Tigrayans%20are%20hungry%20today%20because,percent%20of%20the%20region’s%20population
9. April 12, 2021: @UNOCHA stated, “In Tigray, Ethiopia, 91% of the population need urgent food assistance.” Calling for an end to weaponized starvation in Tigray. @ChrisVanHollen @SenatorRisch @marcorubio @RepSires #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://twitter.com/unocha/status/1381620552343949319?s=21
10. In March, the @UN estimated that 4.5 mil ppl in Tigray were in need of food aid – 80% of its population. The situation grows dire. @JosepBorrellF @EUCouncil @USAmbUN you need to be held accountable for your inaction. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-11/un-pressure-on-ethiopia-ramps-up-as-humanitarian-crisis-deepens
1. The situation in Tigray is dire & civilians are the target. @AbiyAhmedAli is weaponizing food. Young girls are being raped & massacres are all too common. The #TigrayGenocide must end. Please condemn this war. @RepJeffries @AOC @Ilhan #StopStarvingTigray https://www.dw.com/en/tigray-crisis-worsening-with-no-withdrawal-of-eritrean-troops-in-sight-un/a-57220685
2. Eritrean forces and Amhara militias are blocking and restricting access to Tigray, resulting in mass deaths by starvation. Hunger is being weaponized in the ongoing war on Tigray. @HouseForeign @SenateForeign act now #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://addisstandard.com/breaking-report-received-by-the-un-just-this-morning-reveals-150-people-died-of-hunger-in-tigray-eritrean-forces-amhara-region-authorities-restricting-humanitarian-access
3. “Eritrean forces have also blocked the movement of humanitarian staff on that road trying to deliver urgent support to children with severe acute malnutrition.” The US needs a firmer response. @ChrisCoons @timkaine #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocidehttps://addisstandard.com/breaking-report-received-by-the-un-just-this-morning-reveals-150-people-died-of-hunger-in-tigray-eritrean-forces-amhara-region-authorities-restricting-humanitarian-access/
4. “Starvation as a weapon of war is a violation” yet that is exactly what is happening in Tigray by Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Amhara forces. A famine is imminent if immediate action is not taken. @CoryBooker @RandPaul #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://www.voanews.com/ethiopia-tigray/un-hunger-rape-rising-ethiopias-tigray
5. “The vast majority” of Tigray is completely or partially inaccessible to aid workers due to fighting or denial of access, leaving millions susceptible to starvation. Act now @BenCardinforMD @SenatorRisch @SenatorLeahy #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://www.voanews.com/ethiopia-tigray/un-hunger-rape-rising-ethiopias-tigray
6. “@UNReliefChief told the @UN Security Council that… 91% of the population (in Tigray) needed emergency food, as per government estimates.” @mbachelet @Haavisto @JosepBorrellF act now to prevent further starvation! #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocidehttps://www.dw.com/en/tigray-crisis-worsening-with-no-withdrawal-of-eritrean-troops-in-sight-un/a-57220685
7. “@UNReliefChief told the @UN Security Council that as many as 4.5 million of Tigray’s 6 million people were in need of humanitarian aid.” @EUCouncil @EUatUN @JoeBiden @SecBlinken must pressure the Ethiopian gov’t to #StopStarvingTigray! #TigrayGenocide https://www.dw.com/en/tigray-crisis-worsening-with-no-withdrawal-of-eritrean-troops-in-sight-un/a-57220685
8. “Tigray is being deliberately starved to death” through hindered humanitarian access and confirmed accounts of Eritrean and Ethiopian troops stealing and destroying food. @senrobportman @RandPaul take action! #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/29548/in-the-tigray-war-weaponized-starvation-takes-a-devastating-toll
9. “The vast majority” of Tigray is completely or partially inaccessible to aid workers due to fighting or denial of access, leaving millions susceptible to starvation. Act now @BenCardinforMD @SenatorRisch @SenatorLeahy #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://www.voanews.com/ethiopia-tigray/un-hunger-rape-rising-ethiopias-tigray
10. “@UNReliefChief told the @UN Security Council that… 91% of the population (in Tigray) needed emergency food, as per government estimates.” @mbachelet @Haavisto @JosepBorrellF act now to prevent further starvation! #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocidehttps://www.dw.com/en/tigray-crisis-worsening-with-no-withdrawal-of-eritrean-troops-in-sight-un/a-57220685
1. “@UNReliefChief told the @UN Security Council that as many as 4.5 million of Tigray’s 6 million people were in need of humanitarian aid.” @EUCouncil @EUatUN @JoeBiden @SecBlinken must pressure the Ethiopian gov’t to #StopStarvingTigray! #TigrayGenocide https://www.dw.com/en/tigray-crisis-worsening-with-no-withdrawal-of-eritrean-troops-in-sight-un/a-57220685
2. “Tigray is being deliberately starved to death” through hindered humanitarian access and confirmed accounts of Eritrean and Ethiopian troops stealing and destroying food. @senrobportman @RandPaul take action! #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/29548/in-the-tigray-war-weaponized-starvation-takes-a-devastating-toll
3. Humanitarian aid to the region of Tigray has been blocked by @AbiyAhmedAli. We demand an end to man-made starvation crimes. The @UN must also lead an investigation into #TigrayGenocide. #StopStarvingTigray @HouseForeign @PmTunisia @MexOnu @mbachelet https://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/files/2021/04/Starving-Tigray-report-final.pdf
5. Weaponized starvation in Tigray by @AbiyAhmedAli has left 4.5 million in need of emergency food of which 2+ million children remain cut off from necessary emergency humanitarian assistance. Take action! @irishmissionun #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocidehttps://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/files/2021/04/Starving-Tigray-report-final.pdf
6. Intl. community must demand the removal of Eritrean & Ethiopian forces. They have hijacked aid & destroyed crops. The systemic starvation of Tigrayans is one aspect of the long list of war crimes in the region. @USAmbUN #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocidehttps://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/files/2021/04/Starving-Tigray-report-final.pdf
7. The deliberate destruction of livelihood & hijacking of aid by Ethiopian & Eritrean forces in Tigray has left 2 million displaced & 4.5 million people in need of emergency food. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @USUN @JosepBorrellF @YohannesAbrahamhttps://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/files/2021/04/Starving-Tigray-report-final.pdf
8. As Tigrayans are killed by starvation, @UNReliefChief states, “It is a sign of what lies ahead if more action is not taken. Starvation as a weapon of war is a violation.” Action must start TODAY! #StopStarvingTigray @antonioguterres @mbachelet https://www.dw.com/en/tigray-crisis-worsening-with-no-withdrawal-of-eritrean-troops-in-sight-un/a-57220685
9. “From ’emaciated’ refugees to crops burned on the brink of harvest, starvation threatens the survivors of more than 2 months of fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.” Its now the 5th month & the situation is dire. #StopStarvingTigray @NorwayUN @Niger_ONU https://apnews.com/article/ethiopia-united-nations-kenya-ef0b6b2db2994d4c3042cf19f3d92a2a
10. Tigrayans have been cut off from humanitarian aid. Many have died from the result of starvation crimes & the crisis will only intensify. When will international actors intervene? #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide@franceonu @VietNam_UN @UKUN_NewYork https://www.voanews.com/ethiopia-tigray/un-hunger-rape-rising-ethiopias-tigray
1. The effects of starvation include muscle wasting, abdominal pain, depression & more. A slow & torturous death. We need your action to stop the famine in Tigray. Please act now. #TigrayCantWait #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide@JosepBorrellF @Haavisto https://www.dw.com/en/tigray-crisis-worsening-with-no-withdrawal-of-eritrean-troops-in-sight-un/a-57220685
2. In the wake of Tigrayans killed by starvation, @UNReliefChief states, “It is a sign of what lies ahead if more action is not taken. Starvation as a weapon of war is a violation.” Action must start TODAY! #StopStarvingTigray @UNTreatyBodies @StateDeptSpoxhttps://www.dw.com/en/tigray-crisis-worsening-with-no-withdrawal-of-eritrean-troops-in-sight-un/a-57220685
3. The @UN estimates that “at least 4.5 mil of Tigray’s nearly 6 mil people need humanitarian aid.” If corridors do not open, hundreds of thousands of Tigrayans will die. Do you condone this? @SenMarkey @MittRomney #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://www.voanews.com/ethiopia-tigray/un-hunger-rape-rising-ethiopias-tigray
4. How can the @UN commemorate the horrific #RwandaGenocide but at the same time let atrocities continue in Tigray? International community must act now before more people die! #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @mbachelet @antonioguterres @JosepBorrellF https://www.voanews.com/ethiopia-tigray/un-hunger-rape-rising-ethiopias-tigray
5. Gang rape & starvation are being used as weapons of war— relentlessly & systematically by @AbiyAhmedAli & Isaias Afwerki. We need you to ACT NOW! @DarrellIssa @USUN @LindaT_G @RepKarenBass @USGSRSGPatten @endrapeinwar #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://www.voanews.com/ethiopia-tigray/un-hunger-rape-rising-ethiopias-tigray
7. How can the @UN commemorate the horrific #RwandaGenocide but at the same time let atrocities continue in Tigray? International community must act now before more people die! #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @bachelet @antonioguterres @JosepBorrellF https://www.voanews.com/ethiopia-tigray/un-hunger-rape-rising-ethiopias-tigray
8. The livelihood that existed in Tigray was deliberately destroyed by Eritrean & Ethiopian troops. Road blockages make parts of Tigray inaccessible for aid agencies. Protect the vulnerable. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @UNTreatyBodies @NorwayUN @hrw https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/15/no-proof-of-eritrean-troops-tigray-exit-situation-worsening-un
9. Starvation as a weapon of war is a punishable crime. With over 4 mil people at risk of starving & the Ethiopian govt. as the perpetrator, the Int’l community must step in now! #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @KenyaMissionUN @irishmissionun @USUNSpox https://www.dw.com/en/tigray-crisis-worsening-with-no-withdrawal-of-eritrean-troops-in-sight-un/a-57220685
10. Concern without action means nothing. Millions are on the verge of dying. Concrete actions that produce results will save our families. When will you INTERVENE? @EstoniaUN @mbachelet @KenyaMissionUN @USAmbUN @SecYellen#StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-conflict-rape-specialreport-idAFKBN2C20P0
1. The @UN reported that 91% of Tigray is in URGENT need of food assistance. More than 80% of Tigray still remains blocked from aid.We urge that UN ACT immediately to save millions being deliberately starved. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @DicarloRosemary @FilippoGrandi
2. Ethiopia’s man-made famine of over 4.5 million civilians in Tigray constitutes as a war crime according to @ICRC. This violation must be criminally prosecuted in @IntlCrimCourt. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @EstoniaUN @EUCouncil @EmmanuelMacron https://www.voanews.com/ethiopia-tigray/un-hunger-rape-rising-ethiopias-tigray
3. The deliberate blockage of aid is creating Tigray’s dire humanitarian crisis. History is repeating the 1980’s famine & this time it is manufactured by partners @AbiyAhmedAli & Isaias Afwerki.#StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @AmbMKimani @LindaT_Ghttps://www.theafricareport.com/77725/famine-in-tigray-i-have-never-documented-anything-as-relentless-systematic-as-what-were-seeing/
4. “Sole reason for the scale of the humanitarian emergency is that the coalition of Ethiopian federal forces, Amhara regional forces, & Eritrean troops are committing starvation crimes on large scale.” @JoeBiden, when will you step in? #StopStarvingTigrayhttps://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/starving-tigray/
5. The Tigrayan diaspora stand firmly against weaponized starvation of civilians in Tigray. We stand against deliberate blockage of aid & man-made famines. We stand against what’s wrong. Do you? @EstoniaUN @RepJeffries @Ilhan @irishmissionun #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide
6. With overwhelming evidence showcasing the severity & magnitude of Tigray’s humanitarian crisis, action must be taken immediately. What is the International community waiting for? @EstoniaUN @NorwayUN @vonderleyen #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://www.voanews.com/ethiopia-tigray/un-hunger-rape-rising-ethiopias-tigray
7. Tigrayans are suffering a humanitarian crisis that was maliciously made by Ethiopian & Eritrean belligerents who have demolished the region’s economy and access to food. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide@VietNam_UN @IFADEastAfrica @DicarloRosemary https://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/files/2021/04/Starving-Tigray-report-final.pdf
8. “Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare constitutes an Int’l. war crimes in any armed conflict.” This is currently taking place in Tigray as over 4 million people are at risk of starvation. #StopStarvingTigray @SenateForeign #TigrayGenocide https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule53
9. There are several accounts of soldiers destroying food sources & killing livestock. “One eyewitness described an act of petty deprivation: an Eritrean soldier crushed baby chicks under his foot”. @Refugees @FARMUSA #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/files/2021/04/Starving-Tigray-report-final.pdf
10. “The sole reason for the scale of the humanitarian emergency is that the coalition of Ethiopian Federal forces, Amhara regional forces, & Eritrean troops are committing starvation crimes on large scale”. @JoeBiden #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide https://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/files/2021/04/Starving-Tigray-report-final.pdf
1. How is Ethiopia weaponizing man-made Starvation in Tigray? Click the link to learn more. We call on you as leaders, to be a voice for the voiceless.#StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide@SenSchumer @RepGregoryMeeks @SenBooker @RepJeffries @AOC @Ilhan https://omnatigray.org/weaponized-starvation/
2. Click the link below to learn about how Ethiopia is weaponizing Starvation in Tigray. Use your power to be a voice for the voiceless. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide@RepKarenBass @RepBera @RepSaraJacobs @DarrellIssa @YoungKimCA @tedlieu @KarimKhanQC https://omnatigray.org/weaponized-starvation/
3. “Withholding food during times of conflict can be just as detrimental as guns, bombs, and explosive of opposing armies. Hunger has been used as a weapon of war for decades.” #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide@YohannesAbraham @SenSchumer @SpeakerPelosi https://omnatigray.org/weaponized-starvation/
4. “The link between war & hunger was recognized explicitly with the passing of a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution in 2018 which prohibited the use of hunger as a weapon of war.” #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide@KenyaMissionUN @Niger_ONU @PmTunisia https://omnatigray.org/weaponized-starvation/
5. Tigrayans are currently starving in a man-made famine. Deliberate starvation is a war crime, and the Ethiopian gov’t, Eritrean forces, & Amhara militias have done everything in their power to prevent Tigrayans from getting any food aid. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @USUN
6. From burnt crops & looted food, to slaughtered livestock, Tigrayans are facing a man-made famine caused by the Ethiopian govt.’s use of weaponized starvation. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @IntlCrimCourt @GCR2P @UNReliefChief @antonioguterres https://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/files/2021/04/Starving-Tigray-report-final.pdf
7. Unless the international community takes action, Tigrayans will continue to face weaponized starvation and rape by both the Ethiopian & Eritrean govt. You must act quickly. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @mbachelet @UNReliefChief @antonioguterres https://www.dw.com/en/tigray-crisis-worsening-with-no-withdrawal-of-eritrean-troops-in-sight-un/a-57220685
9. 150 people have already been confirmed dead from hunger. Unless the Ethiopian gov’t is stopped & Tigray gets help immediately, there will be catastrophic consequences of death, famine, & displacement. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @EUCouncil @hrwhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/un-tigrays-humanitarian-crisis-worsens-no-eritrean-exit/2021/04/15/17fc89f0-9e18-11eb-b2f5-7d2f0182750d_story.html
5. Tigrayans are currently starving in a man-made famine. Deliberate starvation is a war crime, and the Ethiopian gov’t, Eritrean forces, & Amhara militias have done everything in their power to prevent Tigrayans from getting any food aid. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @USUN
6. From burnt crops & looted food, to slaughtered livestock, Tigrayans are facing a man-made famine caused by the Ethiopian govt.’s use of weaponized starvation. #StopStarvingTigray #TigrayGenocide @IntlCrimCourt @GCR2P @UNReliefChief @antonioguterres https://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/files/2021/04/Starving-Tigray-report-final.pdf
ADIGRAT, Ethiopia (Reuters) – The young mother was trying to get home with food for her two children when she says soldiers pulled her off a minibus in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, claiming it was overloaded.
It was the beginning of an 11-day ordeal in February, during which she says she was repeatedly raped by 23 soldiers who forced nails, a rock and other items into her vagina, and threatened her with a knife.
Some women were held captive for extended periods, days or weeks at a time, said Dr Fasika Amdeselassie, the top public health official for the government-appointed interim administration in Tigray.
“Women are being kept in sexual slavery,” Fasika told Reuters. “The perpetrators have to be investigated.
Of all the 5.7 million people in Tigray, should the offensive continue, at least 4.5 million people will face deadly shortages of food, medicine and water, Alex de Waal, executive director of the WPF tells The Africa Report.
But this can be stopped if the majority of the Tigrayan people, many of whom are are smallholder farmers, are able to farm in time for the rains in June.
Many countries have adopted a “scorched earth” policy (destroying anything that might be of use to an invading enemy) to prevent an invading army from living off the land. Both attackers and defenders in conventional wars and guerrilla struggles have used this strategy.
Since, as Napoleon is quoted as saying, “An army marches on its stomach,” procuring enough food to support an army in the field is a paramount concern for all commanders. Although weapons, clothing, and shelter are of the greatest immediate importance to soldiers, logistical support to provide food and material is often the decisive element in winning wars. Soldiers often had to truly “live off the land” even when in permanent garrisons or semipermanent encampments during lengthy sieges.
“People are dying of starvation. In Adwa, people are dying while they are sleeping. [It’s] also the same in other zones in the region,”
“If the government is to be taken at its word that its campaign is aimed only at ousting the TPLF and not at harming the Tigrayan people, they should swiftly accede to the demands of humanitarian agencies for access to Tigray and even to areas TPLF forces may still control to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe of the sort that would make it harder to find a path out of this devastating conflict.”
Several other senior tplf figures have been killed by the army. Among them was Seyoum Mesfin, Ethiopia’s longest-serving foreign minister. The killings and arrests appear to have left the tplf in disarray. Its leaders, including the ousted president of the Tigray region, Debretsion Gebremichael, have been in hiding for over a month. Although the tplf still controls sizeable swathes of rural Tigray, it holds no towns or cities. Allies of Abiy, who has already declared victory, believe it is only a matter of time before the rest of what he calls the “junta” are captured or killed.
“Ethiopia’s government appears to be wielding hunger as a weapon” as the Tigray region is ”being starved into submission”, citing reports of “horrifying accounts of ethnic killings, mass rapes—and starvation.”
“For more than two months there has been essentially no access to Tigray. (..) There are 450 tonnes of supplies we’ve been trying to get in that are stuck.”
“I am greatly concerned by serious allegations of sexual violence in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, including a high number of alleged rapes in the capital, Mekelle”.
“There is an extreme urgent need — I don’t know what more words in English to use — to rapidly scale up the humanitarian response because the population is dying every day as we speak,”
“It is a daily reality to hear people dying with the fighting consequences, lack of food,”
Hunger is “very concerning,” she said, and even water is scarce: Just two of 21 wells still work in Adigrat, a city of more than 140,000, forcing many people to drink from the river. With sanitation suffering, disease follows.
