Humanitarian — Dahsas

Addis Ababa. File photo, not an image of any event described here.Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada / Wikimedia Commons

Humanitarian·Report

Mekelle's phones are coming back. Normal life is not.

AFP reports returning connections and mobile payments, but closed shops and worried residents. For families waiting for news, the distinction between a reachable city and a safe one matters.

5 Oct

Bishoftu, Oromia. File photo, not evidence of present access or hospital conditions anywhere.mjr74 / Wikimedia Commons

Humanitarian·Explainer

Taking Mekelle does not tell us whether aid can reach people

Two dated operational accounts explain what a battlefield map cannot: whether relief teams can move, and whether patients can reach care. Neither is a live service update for 4 October.

4 Oct

Bahir Dar, Amhara. File photo, not an image of any event described here.A. Davey from Where I Live Now: Pacific Northwest / Wikimedia Commons

Humanitarian·Report

The UN says children are being forced to fight in Tigray

The UN human rights office accuses the TPLF of an ongoing campaign of forced mass recruitment, and says those who refuse have been killed, tortured and detained. It makes a second accusation in the same breath, against the government. Nobody outside can check either, because Tigray is cut off.

4 Oct

The road between Dessie and Kombolcha, Amhara. File photo, not an image of any event described here.Alemseged Aragie / Wikimedia Commons

Humanitarian·Report

Six million people, no phone, no internet

Communications across Tigray were cut around 25 September. A bishop in Adigrat says his communities have no contact with anyone. This is the reason almost nothing coming out of the region can be checked — including the claims both sides are making about who is winning.

3 Oct