Crime and Punishment

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The Ethiopian government criticized the decision by two major aid organizations to suspend food assistance to the African country, a move that could jeopardize the food security of millions of people impacted by civil conflicts and drought in eastern Africa, Agence France-Presse reported.

Last week, USAID – the US government’s main international aid agency – and the United Nation’s World Food Programme halted food distribution over concerns that the aid was being diverted.

Neither agency has identified those responsible for taking the aid and reselling it. USAID said it would recommence distribution if Ethiopia implements reforms to the way aid is delivered.

While Ethiopian authorities announced they will investigate the matter, they later said the halting of aid “punishes millions.” They called the decision “political,” adding that “to make the government only responsible (for the diversion) is unacceptable.”

The suspension of food aid risks affecting millions of Ethiopians already facing food shortages caused by the war in the northern Tigray region, as well as a drought that has also struck neighboring Somalia and parts of Kenya.

The UN estimates that around 20 million people in Ethiopia depend on food aid. The East African country also hosts nearly one million refugees, mostly from South Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea.

Since mid-April, about 30,000 people escaping Sudan’s outbreak of civil war have sought asylum in Ethiopia.