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Ethiopia: UN Aid Officials Expelled By Ethiopia Depart for 'Safety' Reasons
VOA, 4 October 2021
Seven U.N. humanitarian officials expelled by Ethiopia are no longer in the country, the world body confirmed Monday. Read more »
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Ethiopia: Expelled UN Officials Violated Security Arrangements - Govt
Nation, 3 October 2021
Ethiopia on Thursday expelled seven UN aid workers, including Mr Adele Khodr, the Unicef Country Representative for Ethiopia, over claims of interference with the country's… Read more »
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Ethiopia: UN Chief 'Shocked' As Ethiopia Expels 7 High-Level Aid Officials
VOA, 30 September 2021
The U.N. secretary-general expressed "shock" Thursday after the Ethiopian government announced the expulsion of seven senior U.N. humanitarian officials working in the country. Read more »
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Ethiopia: Govt Expels Seven UN Staff, Including UNICEF Country Rep, for 'Meddling' in Internal Affairs
Addis Standard, 30 September 2021
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, said it has issued in letters today declaring a "persona non grata" for seven individuals who the Ministry said are working for various… Read more »
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Ethiopia: Govt Orders Seven Workers of International NGOs to Leave Ethiopia in 72 Hours
ENA, 30 September 2021
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declared seven individuals working for various international NGOs "persona non grata" and ordered them to leave the country in 72 hours. Read more »
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Ethiopia: U.S. Strongly Condemns Ethiopia's Plans to Expel UN Officials
State Department, 30 September 2021
The United States strongly condemns the Government of Ethiopia's stated plans to expel seven United Nations officials and calls for an immediate reversal of this decision. The… Read more »
UN Shocked as Ethiopia Expels Seven High-Level Aid Officials
Ethiopia is expelling seven high-level United Nations officials, Voice of America reports. The country's foreign ministry said on September 30, 2021 that the officials were informed they must leave the country "within the next 72 hours" for allegedly "meddling" with internal matters, without being specific. The world body said on October 4, 2021 that the official had left the country.
The announcement of their expulsion came two days after a senior UN official reiterated that hundreds of thousands of people in Ethiopia's embattled northern Tigray region were probably experiencing famine. Aid chief Martin Griffiths said on September 28, 2021 that a nearly three-month-long blockade had limited aid shipments to 10% of what is needed in the region.
Among the seven people who have been ordered to leave Ethiopia are the heads of the United Nations Children's Fund and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The remaining five are OCHA officials.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that he was "shocked" by the expulsions and that the organization's humanitarian operations were "guided by the core principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence." He said the UN was "now engaging" with the Ethiopian government "in the expectation that the concerned UN staff will be allowed to continue their important work".
Armed conflict over Ethiopia's Tigray region erupted in November 2020 among federal and allied regional forces and forces backed by the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front.
InFocus
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Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, has strongly criticised the UN Security Council for lack of action on the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray ... Read more »
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As the conflict in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region enters its sixth month, the United Nations Security Council has broken its silence and called for scaled-up humanitarian access ... Read more »
The UN and human rights groups have warned that fighting has hampered food security in Tigray with a real risk of famine (file photo).
