Horn fighting theatens refugees

UN agencies had to suspend food distribution

Tens of thousands of refugees from the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea are at risk because of the upsurge in fighting, according to the UN.

The World Food Programme (WFP) says bombing near the refugee camps in the Gash Barka region scattered the inhabitants and made it too dangerous for relief workers to continue food distribution.

The UN has temporarily pulled out most of its staff from the area, where it has been feeding an estimated 200,000 refugees over the past year.

Severe drought has affected many parts of Ethiopia

WFP director Catherine Bertini said the job of providing assistance to refugees had become "difficult if not impossible".

People in need of food and emergency supplies were going without, she said.

Famine

Ethiopia and to a lesser extent Eritrea have been hit by famine as a result of severe drought and are pleading for international aid - even as they spend millions on weapons to fight each other.

The European Commission said on Tuesday it was allocating an extra 3.29 million euros ($2.96m) to help the most vulnerable drought-hit populations of south-eastern Ethiopia.

Because all of the United Nations agencies were doing their best to provide assistance to the internally displaced, this has become difficult if not impossible now

Catherine Bertini

The money is in addition to two million euros allocated to Ethiopia last month.

It will pay for drinking water, basic health services and distribution of food.

The war is not having an immediate impact on the millions of people affected by the drought further south in the Horn of Africa but relief agencies point out that the war diverts much-needed resources from the task of tackling famine.

The UN is planning to launch a fresh appeal for international assistance.

War continues

Eritrea rushed reinforcements into the west of the country where Ethiopian troops launched a major offensive five days ago.

Trucks carrying hundreds of Eritrean soldiers were seen heading for the Badme region where battle has been raging.

Estimated 200,000 displaced people gathered in UN-supervised refugee camps

Some of the trucks were coming from the direction of another frontline, indicating that Eritrea was pulling troops from other disputed areas to the western battlefront.

The Eritrean Government has admitted that Ethiopian troops have made advances into Eritrean territory.

The battlefield is reported to be strewn with corpses.

News of the Eritrean reinforcements came as the United Nations Security Council agreed a US proposal for an arms embargo on both Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Russia, which initially opposed the move, insists that any fresh sanctions should be temporary rather than open-ended.