The United States said seven humanitarian workers have been killed in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region alone since November 2020.
One additional humanitarian was killed elsewhere in the country and were killed while supporting life-saving interventions for vulnerable people, the US embassy in Addis Ababa has said.
The US also called on all armed actors in Ethiopia to safeguard the lives and activities of humanitarian workers throughout the country.
“The Government of Ethiopia has a central role to play in ensuring the safety of civilians, including the humanitarian community. Further, all armed actors must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law. We call on all armed actors to allow and facilitate unhindered, consistent, and safe access for aid—and aid workers—to reach all people in need, the statement said.
In the most recent incident, a staff member of a USAID partner was killed on April 28 in Kola Temben in Tigray reportedly by Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers. According to eyewitnesses, he clearly identified himself as a humanitarian worker and pleaded for his life before he was killed by military actors. The circumstances of this incident reflect a troubling broader deterioration in the safety and security of the environment in which humanitarian workers are operating in Ethiopia every day, as well as the worsening humanitarian and human rights crisis, the statement noted.
