More than 50 people have died of starvation caused by drought in the Tigray and Amhara regions in northern Ethiopia, local officials said today, reports the BBC.
According to the disaster risk management office, 46 people have died after leaving their homes due to the drought. In the Wag Hemra area of neighboring Ahmara region, at least six people and 4,000 livestock have starved to death due to drought-induced food shortages, a local official said.
For more than five months, the US and the United Nations (UN) have suspended food aid deliveries to Ethiopia following accusations against local authorities of food theft.
The decision worsened the humanitarian crisis in the country, where wars and extreme weather have left millions dependent on humanitarian aid.
While the northern parts of Ethiopia are facing severe drought, the southern and eastern parts of the country are expected to be hit by unusually heavy rainfall.
According to the UN, more than 40 people have died in recent weeks due to floods and landslides, the vast majority of them in the Somali region in the far east of Ethiopia.
