Thirteen lorries full of food and other supplies have arrived safely in the capital of Ethiopia’s war-torn region of Tigray, the first aid to arrive in Mekelle since December, the UN says.
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The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said that more trucks and fuel would follow on Saturday morning - a week after a humanitarian truce was agreed between the government and Tigrayan forces.
This week roads to Tigray from the neighbouring region of Afar had remained closed despite the ceasefire - with the warring parties trading accusations over who was to blame.
“Good progress, much more needed - we need daily convoys flowing in safely to meet the needs of five million people,” the WFP tweeted.
“We must keep up this momentum and need continued assurances from all authorities to keep the supplies flowing safely through the Afar corridor at scale,” it added.
Earlier a senior official of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the group that has been at war with the government for 17 months, welcomed the move as "a step in the right direction" but said there should be "a system in place to ensure unfettered humanitarian access for the needy".
The government has said it is committed to helping the safe passage of aid.
The conflict has left hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of famine, according to the UN.