UN mulls suspending relief to Ethiopia's Amhara after aid workers attacked

The United Nations is considering suspending relief operations, including food aid deliveries, in Ethiopia's Amhara region, following deadly attacks on humanitarian workers, according to a draft proposal seen by Reuters and verified by two diplomats.

Five aid workers were killed in the first six months of 2024, 10 were physically assaulted or injured and 11 were kidnapped by unidentified criminal groups, according to the document which is dated August 2024.

The three-page document, which is marked "internal", states that the UN is "seriously considering implementing a temporary cessation of relief operations in the region".

Several NGOs and donors have already opposed the move, according to three sources familiar with discussions surrounding the proposal.

Dire impact

A cessation of relief operations would have a dire impact on more than 2.3 million people in Amhara who rely on food aid to survive, two donor nations and an NGO opposed to the suspension told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Amhara is home to more than 36 million people as well as the first stop for thousands of refugees fleeing the war in neighbouring Sudan.

Fighting between Ethiopia's army and Amhara Fano militiamen broke out in July 2023 and has killed hundreds and displaced thousands according to UN estimates.

Fano militia fought alongside the army in a two-year civil war that pitted Addis Ababa against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which controls the northern region of Tigray.

During that conflict, Ethiopia's government denied accusations that it was using starvation as a weapon of war against Tigray, which was under a de facto blockade.

After the war ended, relations between Fano and the government nosedived over accusations that Addis Ababa was undermining Amhara's security by dismantling its regional army.

The proposal was written by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and shared with the Ethiopia Humanitarian Country Team (EHCT), which includes donors, NGOs and UN agencies.

OCHA declined to comment on the draft position paper.

Spokespeople for the federal government, the foreign ministry and the Amhara regional authorities did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Killings and kidnappings

UN resident and humanitarian coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov told Reuters that killings and kidnappings of aid workers were "undermining the ability of humanitarian workers to do their work, and thereby, aid delivery is impeded until we establish a way of working that allows safe and principled reach to the communities in need".

On September 29, a staff member with the children's charity Plan International, Teklemariam Tarekegn, was killed in Debre Mewi in Amhara along with two others when the minibus they were travelling in was attacked, according to the organisation.

Plan told Reuters it was aware of the UN proposal to pause work in Amhara and monitoring the security situation closely.

"Ceasing operations is a decision that we would never take lightly when humanitarian need is so desperate, and would only do so if absolutely necessary," said Peter Sweetnam, Ethiopia director for Plan International.

According to the UN document, Ethiopia's government would need to agree to a series of commitments and additional security steps before the UN considers restarting Amhara relief work.

These include assurances that aid workers can work safely in Amhara and that any severe incidents including kidnappings or killings will be investigated by an independent body.