Hunger haunts Ethiopia’s Tigray after civil war

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00 Days old, born after the war, but in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.

00:05 Little Burhanu, meaning blessing and aroma, is malnourished.

00:09 He's getting basic support at Tigray's main hospital.

00:12 His parents, etched with worry, want to return home.

00:15 If Burhanu survives here, the next struggle is finding food outside.

00:20 The medical team here say they're doing everything they can with the little they have.

00:24 We're dealing with more sick children because of the food shortage.

00:29 Once we treat them and they show improvement, we will send them back home.

00:32 However, they don't have anything to eat and they will get sick and come back again.

00:36 It's a vicious circle.

00:38 The ward is overwhelmed with similar stories.

00:41 Families wait in corridors to be seen, beds for the most urgent.

00:44 Tzige is 10 and weighs 10 kilograms.

00:47 Amalash, her father, says he fears the worst.

00:52 She doesn't take any food as she is severely damaged by malnutrition.

00:56 Initially we were trying to give her soup mixed with milk, but unfortunately she doesn't

00:59 take food now.

01:01 This is all because we didn't have any food in the beginning.

01:04 In the city of Mekelle, the sound of gunfire replaced with birdsong now.

01:08 After two years of conflict between the government forces and the rebel Tigrayan People's Liberation

01:13 Front, a ceasefire signed in November.

01:16 International aid started to pour in, but then suspended by the two major donors alleging

01:21 aid had been diverted from those in need.

01:24 The displacement camps are growing, so too the number of people dying in Tigray directly

01:29 or indirectly from hunger, almost 600 so far this year.

01:34 The Ethiopian government hasn't responded to requests for comment.

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