Addis Ababa, June 23, 2022 (Walta) – Planes caring aid to the Tigray Regional State have been prevented from landing at Alula Aba Nega Airport in Mekelle, the regional capital, by the terrorist Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF).
According to a statement issued by the Government Communication Service today, the Ethiopian government has been working in tandem with the donor community to provide necessary humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people in the region both by air and land.
However, the government efforts to supply Tigray with necessary humanitarian assistance have been hampered by the terrorist TPLF at different times, added the statement.
The terrorist group has repeatedly tried to disrupt the government’s efforts to provide humanitarian access to the region by inciting conflict in humanitarian corridors repeatedly in the past and now by preventing plane caring humanitarian aid, said the government in its statement.
By blocking access to humanitarian aid to the people of Tigray and harassing aid corridors, the terrorist TPLF is showing that it does not care about the people of Tigray beyond its own political calculations and propaganda. TPLF’s goal is to tarnish the national image and spread false propaganda, the statement added.
It is well-known the government has facilitated to increase in the flow of the necessary humanitarian assistance towards the region by the international community. However, the government’s effort to overcome the obstacles the region faced has been hampered by the terrorist group, it added.
In its latest attempt, the terrorist force has banned flights carrying medical supplies and nutritious food. The suspension of aid planes from landing in Mekelle Alula Aba Nega Airport for an indefinite period of time is testimony to the terrorist group’s destructive role, the statement underlines.
The statement underscores the recent move of TPLF and reaffirms that the terror group has no other purpose than using the Tigray people as a hostage for its false propaganda.
Cognizant of the fact on the ground in the Tigray region, the government called on the international community to condemn the terrorist group’s decision to obstruct the flow of essential humanitarian aid into the region.
The government reaffirmed its commitment to provide the necessary humanitarian assistance to the people of Tigray.