The director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Wednesday, October 19, that there is “a very narrow window now to prevent genocide” in his home country of Tigray, in northern Ethiopia, according to Reuters.
[bs-quote quote=”There’s no other situation globally in which 6 million people have been kept under siege for almost two years…There is a very narrow window now to prevent genocide… I have many relatives in some of the most affected areas. But my job is to draw the world’s attention to crises that threaten the health of people wherever they are.” style=”style-1″ align=”center” color=”” author_name=”Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus” author_job=”World Health Organization Director-General” author_avatar=”” author_link=””][/bs-quote]
In response, the government accused him of attempting to obtain weapons and diplomatic support for rebel forces; he refuted these accusations. In his most outspoken statements on the conflict to date, Tedros warned Geneva reporters that Tigray, mostly cut off from the outside world, was using food and medical supplies as weapons of war.
Redwan Hussein, the prime minister’s national security advisor, Legesse Tulu, and Billie Seyoum, the prime minister’s spokesperson, did not immediately respond to calls for comment. The Ethiopian government has consistently denied targeting civilians or preventing humanitarian aid from reaching Tigray. Thousands have died, millions have been displaced, and hundreds of thousands are on the verge of famine due to the violence.
This week, the Ethiopian military and their allies took control of several Tigray towns, raising concerns that the advancing soldiers would abuse locals.
All sides participating in the Tigray war committed abuses that may have constituted war crimes, according to a joint investigation conducted last year by the UN and Ethiopia’s state-appointed human rights commission.
The Tigray war resulted from long-standing conflicts over who should have control of Ethiopia as a whole and how authority should be divided between the federal and regional governments.
Ethiopian authorities have already charged Tedros for aiding Tigray forces without proof.