Ethiopia: First aid shipment arrives in Tigray after landmark ceasefire

Delivery of 40 tonnes of medical aid hailed as 'enormous relief' following two years of siege in country's northern region

A convoy of lorries from the International Committee of the Red Cross deliver lifesaving medical supplies to Mekelle in the Tigray region. Reuters

The first aid in months has arrived in Ethiopia's Tigray region, aid groups said on Tuesday.

A convoy carrying 40 tonnes of essential medicine and surgical equipment arrived in the regional capital of Mekele on Tuesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

The organisation's Ethiopia head hailed the delivery as an “enormous relief” following two years of siege in the country's northern region, in a bloody conflict which has killed about 600,000 people.

Two million were displaced in the two years of fighting between the federal government and Tigray forces. A blockade was enforced on the region, home to 5 million, sparking famine and a dire healthcare shortage.

“The healthcare system in the region is under extreme pressure and these deliveries are a lifeline for people who need medical help,” said the ICRC's Nicolas von Arx.

It is the first aid delivery since a previous ceasefire broke down in August, said the aid group.

Earlier this month, the warring sides agreed to end hostilities following African Union-brokered talks in South Africa. On Sunday, an accord was signed in Nairobi to provide humanitarian access to Tigray. The government has said it now controls 70 per cent of Tigray, and claims aid is “flowing like no other time.”

Redwan Hussien Rameto, second left, representative of the Ethiopian government, and Getachew Reda, second right, representative of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, sign a peace agreement regarding the African Union-led negotiations to resolve conflict in Ethiopia at the Department of International Relations and Co-operation offices in Pretoria, South Africa. AFP

Representatives from Ethiopia and representatives from Tigray attend a press conference. AFP

Redwan Hussien Rameto, representative of the Ethiopian government. AFP

Getachew Reda, representative of the Tigray People's Liberation Front. AFP

Former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, left, arrives for peace talks between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan People's Liberation Front. AFP

Youngsters walk next to an abandoned tank south of the town of Mehoni, Ethiopia. AFP

The airport in Bahir Dar, the capital city of the Amhara region of northern Ethiopia. AP

Protestors outside the Emirates stadium in London raise awareness of conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Reuters

UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi, centre, speaks with Clementine Nkweta-Salami, right, UNHCR regional bureau director for the East, Horn and Great Lakes regions of Africa. AP Photo

A destroyed tank is seen in a field in the aftermath of fighting between the Ethiopian National Defence Force and the Tigray People's Liberation Front forces in Kasagita town, in Afar region, Ethiopia. Reuters

Ethiopians protest at a rally organised by the city administration against what they say is interference by outsiders in the country's internal affairs and against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the party of Tigray's fugitive leaders, in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. AP Photo

A man waves an Ethiopian flag as he join others gathering in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during a demonstration in support of Ethiopia armed forces. AFP

A satellite image shows the deployment of heavy weaponry in the town of Serha, Eritrea, near the border with Ethiopia's Tigray region. Reuters

A man gestures as he shouts during a protest at the Embassy of the United States of America in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. AFP

Workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross deliver lifesaving medical supplies into Mekelle, Tigray region, Ethiopia. Reuters

Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, left, meets with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the UN headquarters. AP Photo

A convoy of trucks part of the World Food Programme (WFP) on their way to Tigray are seen in the village of Erebti, Ethiopia. The Afar region, the only passageway for humanitarian convoys bound for Tigray, is itself facing a serious food crisis, due to the combined effects of the conflict in northern Ethiopia and the drought in the Horn of Africa which have notably caused numerous population displacements. More than a million people need food aid in the region according to the World Food Programme. AFP

Captive Ethiopian soldiers arrive at the Mekele Rehabilitation Centre in Tigray, Ethiopia, after a four-day journey from Abdi Eshir. All photos: AFP

Women welcome Tigray People's Liberation Front fighters as they return to Mekele after seizing control of the city in June 2021.

Ethiopians who fled the Tigray conflict wait to charge their phones at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, Sudan.

A member of the Afar Special Forces stands in front of the debris of a house on the outskirts of the village of Bisober in Tigray.

People hold candles and Ethiopian flags at a memorial service for the victims of the Tigray conflict in Addis Ababa.

An Ethiopian refugee who fled fighting in Tigray waits behind a fence in a camp in Sudan.

Refugees living in a camp in Sudan after fleeing violence in Tigray.

A woman walks among the remains of a destroyed factory in Ataye, Ethiopia, where more than 100 civilians died in a recent flare-up of violence.

Two members of the Amhara militia ride in the back of a pick-up truck. Amharas and Tigrayans were uneasy neighbours before the current fighting, with tension over land sparking violent clashes.

Militias from the Amhara region have been involved in the fighting in Tigray.

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians gather at a rally organised by the mayor of Addis Ababa to show support for the military's efforts in Tigray.

Zeleke Alabachew, farmer and militia fighter, tends to his land near the village of Tekeldengy, Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation.

People celebrate the liberation of opposition leaders in the city of Alamata, Ethiopia.

A family fleeing violence sit in a former classroom at May Weyni secondary school, now hosting 10,500 displaced people, in Mekele, capital of Tigray.

Ethiopian refugees travel to Sudan to escape violence in Tigray.

Ethiopian refugees gather to celebrate the 46th anniversary of the Tigray People's Liberation Front at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, Sudan. The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics before being ousted from their regional stronghold last year.

An Ethiopian refugee sets up a tent in a camp in the town of Gedaref, Sudan, after being transported from the border reception centre.

Pro-Tigrayan demonstrators display placards during a protest in front of the chancellery in Berlin.

The aftermath of heavy shelling in Wukro, a city north of Mekele, in Ethiopia.

Last week, the World Health Organisation called for a massive influx of food and medicines into the region, saying desperately-needed aid had not yet been allowed to get through.

“Many people are dying from treatable diseases. Many people are dying from starvation,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is from Tigray, said at a press conference.

Before the accord, doctors in the besieged region had warned of severe shortages and people dying of preventable diseases.

In August, the UN said at least 400,000 people in Tigray were living in “famine-like” conditions, with humanitarian efforts hindered by “delays and arbitrary restrictions” and the government using starvation as a weapon of war.

The fighting in Tigray has drained $1 billion from the country's reserves, said Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

The conflict began after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray in 2020, after accusing the Tigray People's Liberation Front — a group that spent decades at the centre of Ethiopian politics — of attacking federal army camps.

The AU is monitoring implementation of the ceasefire, which was hailed as a “new dawn” for Ethiopia and the wider region.