International
Severe child malnutrition increasing in Tigray: UN
AFP
The number of young children admitted to hospital suffering for severe malnutrition in Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray region has doubled this year over 2020, the UN said Thursday, as escalating fighting threatens to further hamper the aid response.
“Some 18,600 children under the age of five in Tigray have been admitted for treatment for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) from February to August this year compared to 8,900 in 2020, a 100 per cent increase, according to UNICEF,” the UN’s humanitarian coordination office said in its weekly situation report for the 11-month-old conflict in northern Ethiopia.
Malnutrition among pregnant and lactating women also “continues to be very high at about 63 per cent”, the report said, while noting that only 897 aid trucks have reached the region of roughly 6 million people since mid-July — about 14 percent of the estimated need.
Tigray erupted in conflict last November after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to topple the region’s former ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The 2019 Nobel Peace laureate said the move came in response to TPLF attacks on army camps and promised a swift victory.
But by late June the TPLF had regrouped and retaken most of the region including the regional capital Mekele.
Since then the region has been under a de facto humanitarian blockade, according to the UN, which estimates that hundreds of thousands face famine-like conditions.
The US has largely blamed Ethiopian government policies for the blockade, while the government has blamed TPLF incursions into neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar.
In addition to food, the region is desperately short of medicines and medical equipment, something the UN has noted in several recent reports.
Thursday’s edition said nine trucks carrying medicines remained stuck awaiting government approval in Afar, currently home to the only functioning land route into Tigray.
Polio vaccines are needed for 887,000 children and measles vaccines are needed for 790,000 children, the report said, adding that failure to administer the shots “will result in an outbreak”.
The dire warnings over the humanitarian situation came one week after humanitarian and rebel sources first cited signs of a fresh government offensive against the TPLF, including air and ground strikes.
The government has not officially confirmed the offensive.
The UN said Thursday that reinforcements “by parties to the conflict” had been reported and that “areas along the border between Tigray and Amhara and Afar have seen clashes during the past week.”
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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