No Major Humanitarian Crisis in Ogaden Region: Top UN Relief Official

No major humanitarian crisis in Ogaden region: top UN relief official

ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) — There is currently no major humanitarian catastrophe or human rights abuse in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region, said a top UN relief official on Wednesday.

“There is no heavy military presence in the region visible during my visit. And I found out that there is no major humanitarian catastrophe in the region, though I heard allegations,there is no widespread human rights violation in the region,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes, who just visited the Ogaden region, told a press conference.

However, he expressed concern that the situation might worsen.

“Access to the humanitarian workers is not universal yet because of security but it is improving and we will be pressing asthe situation in the region is potentially serious and as the availability and price of food is serious. If actions are not taken in months we may reach a humanitarian catastrophe condition,” said Holmes, who arrived here on Monday for a working visit.

In the region, government troops clash with the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), causing a direct and indirect humanitarian impact on the civilian population, said aid workers there.

According to a report issued last month by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 1.8 million people could be affected by a looming crisis unless food and medical aid arrived within a few months.

Holmes also said that the UN and its partners are scaling up their assistance to vulnerable groups in Ethiopia, in response to increasing humanitarian needs and his visit is part of efforts by the government of Ethiopia and relief agencies of the United Nations to improve the humanitarian situation in the country.

The Ethiopian government expelled the International Committeefor Red Cross (ICRC) from the region earlier this year and Holmes said that he hopes ICRC and other NGOs will be back in the region.”A good number of NGOs are in the region and I hope that ICRC willbe allowed in the future.”

Regarding the allegation that the Ethiopia government has beenblocking food in the region, he said, “I have heard the allegationbut not sure weather it is real or not, it needs an open and independent investigation.”

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