Ethiopia: Armed Conflict in the Tigray Region 

causes Food Insecurities and Migrations

Long-simmering tensions between a powerful faction in northern Ethiopia and the federal government have ignited into armed conflict. Families have left their homes for safety in surrounding countries; those remaining are food insecure. La Salle International is teaming with partners to provide humanitarian and emergency relief.

In November 2020, an armed conflict erupted in Ethiopia’s northernmost region, Tigray, which borders Eritrea on the north and Sudan on the west. In what the International Crisis Group termed a “sudden and predictable” descent into conflict, this tension ignited a long-simmering feud between a powerful group in Tigray and the federal government based in Addis Ababa.  Amid tones of genocide and ethnic cleansing, there are reports of thousands of people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.

Efforts to escape the conflict have forced refugees into Sudan and Ethiopia.  The conflict-imposed lockdowns and Covid-19 transmissions have further complicated the lives of the Tigray people.  International relief organizations have difficulty accessing the area, so local NGOs provide relief services for the conflict-impacted families.

There are concerns that this conflict in the fragile Horn of Africa could adversely impact surrounding countries.  With an estimated quarter-million of powerful Tigray troops being activated,  the war could be a prolonged, brutal, and bloody struggle.   

While there are no Lasallian centers in the area, Fondazione De La Salle Solidarietà Internazionale ONLUS and La Salle International Foundation are collaborating to provide emergency and humanitarian aid, which will be implemented through on-ground local partners. Contributions made to these efforts will go toward food and primary needs of the conflict-impacted families.

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