Forty-one tonnes of food, loaded on a truck that flew no flags and bore no markings, were heading along the main road between Adi-Daero and Adi-Nebried in north-western Tigray on 20 September when the vehicle was struck during reported drone strikes. It had left Mekelle bound for a centre for internally displaced people in Sheraro. “We are very relieved that the driver survived the incident without injury,” Zemede Zewdie, Ethiopia country representative for Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the international humanitarian agency of the US Catholic community, told SIR in written responses. The damage to the cargo was worse, and it shows how fragile the corridor carrying food to people driven from their homes has become, nearly four years after the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement.
Half the cargo saved and delivered
The strike “caused fire damage to the truck cab” and left part of the food damaged or destroyed, “disrupting timely assistance for internally displaced families”, Zewdie said. Local sources cited by the Ethiopian news outlet Addis Standard, however, said the driver suffered burns to his hand and that a 13-year-old girl was injured. Half the cargo was salvaged and delivered to the displaced. The truck was operating under the Joint Emergency Operation (JEOP), a US government-funded food programme implemented “in direct coordination with trusted local partners like Caritas Ethiopia-Adigrat”. According to the Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat, it was one of about 20 trucks contracted by the Adigrat Diocesan Catholic Secretariat, and the Sheraro camp shelters 56,273 displaced people. Across its current operations in Tigray, CRS has targeted more than 674,000 internally displaced people, allocating over 9,060 tonnes of food. It did not say how much is actually getting through. “We are actively evaluating the situation while continuing to deliver the necessary assistance to the intended recipients in Sheraro,” he added. On 22 September the US State Department condemned the strike and urged the authorities to investigate fully.
From Pretoria back to war
The 2022 agreement was never fully implemented, and in July the regional authorities led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) declared it had effectively collapsed. In September the TPLF joined other armed groups in an alliance to topple Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government, and on 23 September it seized the region’s three airports and attacked into neighbouring Amhara and Afar. On 1 October Ethiopia, which accuses Eritrea of backing forces hostile to the government, closed its embassy in Asmara, and Eritrea cut diplomatic ties. Two days later the TPLF pulled out of Mekelle, where the pro-government Tigray Peace Force militia and federal troops moved in. In Afar alone, humanitarian sources estimate at least 150,000 people have been displaced. On 4 October a drone struck the Sheraro camp itself, the truck’s destination, killing at least eight people, according to humanitarian and local sources. “I extend my heartfelt plea to all parties to choose the path of dialogue,” Pope Leo XIV had said at the end of his general audience on 30 September, expressing the hope that the international community would offer “its generous and timely contribution” so that humanitarian aid reaches all those in need.
Fuel, cash and safe passage
“The primary challenges facing humanitarian delivery center on supplies such as fuel and cash, as well as the high cost of transporting goods,” Zewdie said. In February, Tigray’s Trade and Export Agency said fuel deliveries to the region had been cut off since January, a claim denied by the federal Petroleum and Energy Authority. Recent developments, he added, also pose risks to the safety of staff, vehicles and supplies. “Any disruption along transit routes or damage to humanitarian cargo presents a serious setback for populations already enduring humanitarian hardships,” Zewdie warned. “To overcome these obstacles,” he said, “it is important that all relevant stakeholders and authorities recognize that humanitarian shipments carry life-saving provisions for people in need.” The Eparchy of Adigrat has likewise called for safety guarantees on aid routes. CRS says it is committed to strengthening safety with the authorities and its humanitarian partners. But one point, Zewdie insisted, is essential: “Active protection must be guaranteed for all humanitarian personnel and assets so that aid can move securely and without interference.”