Tigray Food Crisis Deepens as Catholic Leaders Plead for Relief

On Nov. 4, 2020, Abiy announced a military offensive in response to an alleged attack on a military base in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray. The conflict soon escalated into an all-out civil war in which mass atrocities have been reported. Eritrea, Ethiopia’s neighbor to the north and former adversary, joined the side of the Ethiopian government early in the conflict. Some have accused Abiy’s government of ethnic cleansing. 

For much of the war, Tigray was under blockade by the Ethiopian government, which halted all humanitarian aid and forbid aid workers and media to enter the region. 

The Ethiopian government and the TPLF signed a peace deal brokered by the African Union (AU) in November 2022, bringing the war to an end on paper. It is estimated that 600,000 people died in the conflict and there are reports of ongoing violence in various parts of Tigray. Though Ethiopia is extremely diverse overall, the Tigray region is overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian, at around 96%.

Pope Francis has repeatedly called for peace in Tigray. In 2021, after his weekly Angelus, the pope prayed a Hail Mary for the people of the Tigray region. 

“There is famine today, there is hunger there,” Francis said. “Let us pray together for an immediate end to violence, for food and health assistance to be guaranteed for all, and for social harmony to be restored as soon as possible. In this regard, I thank all those who work to alleviate the suffering of the people. Let us pray to Our Lady for these intentions.”

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Other Catholic leaders have spoken out as well. 

According to reports from the region, many mothers giving birth at local hospitals in Tigray have been unable to breastfeed due to their own hunger, and many malnourished children “near death” have been showing up at hospitals. 

Speaking to the BBC, the WFP spokesperson said the agency was speeding up efforts to resume food aid and has started distributing a limited amount of food in some areas to test stringent new measures being put in place to “make sure food will not fall into the wrong hands again.”

Violence in the region has sometimes specifically targeted Christians. In January 2021, at least 750 people were reported dead after an attack on an Oriental Orthodox church in Tigray. Hundreds of people who hid inside the church were brought out to the front square and shot to death by Ethiopian government troops and Amhara militia from central Ethiopia. Locals have said they believe the church was targeted by raiders of the lost ark. (According to Ethiopian tradition, the Ark of the Covenant is believed to be preserved in the ancient holy city of Aksum, in the Tigray region.) 

In April on Easter Sunday, two Catholic Relief Services (CRS) workers were shot and killed while riding in a CRS vehicle in the Amhara region of Ethiopia on their way back from an assignment in Addis Ababa. The Amhara region borders Tigray to the south. 

In a statement issued Aug. 7, the chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace called on global leaders to do more to ensure food security for all, citing numbers from the WFP that estimated about 258 million people in 58 countries experienced crisis-level acute hunger in 2022.

Jonah McKeown is a staff writer and assistant podcast producer for Catholic News Agency. He holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and in the past has worked as a writer, as a producer for public radio, and as a videographer.