Debris from drone strike hits UN truck in northern Ethiopia: World Food Programme

Debris from a drone strike in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region hit a World Food Programme truck carrying humanitarian aid and injured the driver, a WFP spokesperson said on Monday.

WFP, a United Nations agency, helps coordinate humanitarian assistance to Tigray, where a nearly two-year conflict has killed thousands and left millions in need of aid.

#Tigray-an forces spokesman alleges #Ethiopia govt drone strike hits @WFP aid truck, causing injuries. Calls on @WFPChief to condemn it. https://t.co/2RMBgY8mxM

— Daniel Schearf (@DanielSSchearf) September 25, 2022

WFP "has received report of a drone strike that took place near the Zana Woreda, in the Tigray Region's North-western zone on the morning of 25 September," a spokesperson told Reuters in a text message.

"Flying debris from the strike injured a driver contracted by WFP and caused minor damage to a WFP fleet truck," the spokesperson said.

The truck was delivering food to internally displaced people in Tigray, where fighting resumed late last month after a five-month ceasefire.

Two humanitarian workers in Tigray confirmed the incident and shared pictures of the damaged truck.

Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu, military spokesperson Colonel Getnet Adane and the prime minister's spokesperson Billene Seyoum did not respond to requests for comment.

WFP says an estimated 13 million people in Tigray and the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar are in "desperate need of food assistance".

The conflict pits Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which governs Tigray and used to dominate Ethiopia's ruling coalition.

The government accuses the TPLF of trying to reassert Tigrayan dominance over Ethiopia. The TPLF accuses Abiy of over-centralising power and oppressing Tigrayans.

(Reuters)