WFP, UN Condemn TPLF’s Fuel Stealing

August 26, 2022 

 • Once again, thugs reveal true character: A Tigrayan Diaspora

 BY HAILE DEMEKE

ADDIS ABABA–The UN World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley said Tigrayan authorities stole 570,000 liters of fuel which was meant for WFP operations in the Tigray Region, calling the situation an ‘outrageous and disgraceful’ act.

Noting millions will starve, the program does not have fuel to deliver food to the needy people in the areas; Beasley urged the immediate return of the fuel.

The UN Secretary-General Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said for his part that the stocks of fuel were to be used solely for humanitarian purposes, with the distribution of food, fertilizer and other emergency relief items. This loss of fuel will impact humanitarian operations and supporting communities in all of Northern Ethiopia. “We condemn any looting or confiscation of humanitarian goods or humanitarian premises and call on all parties to uphold their obligations under International humanitarian law and to respect humanitarian personnel activities, assets and goods.”

“On August 24th WFP Warehouse in Mekelle was forcibly entered by Tigrayan forces who took 12 fuel trucks and tankers with 570,000 liters of fuel. The team on the ground unsuccessfully tried to prevent this looting,” he elaborated.

Commenting on the issue, Negasse Beyene, a Tigrayan who lives in the Diaspora, said that the timing of the provocation and looting of the WFP 12 tankers of fuel speaks volume about the characteristic feature of the group.

 “I know the group from the inception. The TPLF thrives in war and looting. It hasn’t an iota of humanity. It has long considered the youths of Tigray as a mere instrument of war.”

Despite the federal government’s continued effort to conclude the matter in peace, the group knows that it benefits from war and pillage, he added.

The truth is that there is a government in Ethiopia that is working hard to part with poverty for good. Through bringing the people together and embarking upon various dearly needed projects, the incumbent is aiming at detaching the people from aid dependence. And at this juncture, one has to understand that there are antitheses of the development. “They don’t want such governments to appear in Africa.”

The international community must truly denounce the group’s despicable acts, Negasse pleaded.

Negasse said despite the rocky road towards it, the people of Tigray have to raise their voice of “enough is enough”. Moreover, if Tigrayans in the Diaspora, if they really want peace in Tigray, they should denounce the heinous acts of the TPLF. They must create pressure on the group to fully resort to peace.

The Ethiopian Herald 26 August 2022