Hunger don kill over 1000 pipo for Ethiopia's Tigray crisis - official

At least 1,400 pipo don starve to death for Ethiopia northern Tigray since food aid dey suspended sake of say dem tiff am, one official don tok.

Di UN World Food Programme (WFP) and di US leading aid agency bin stop food aid to Tigray about four months ago.

One investigation by Tigrayan authorities later find say almost 500 pipo bin involve for di tiff-tiff, di official bin tell BBC.

Tigray bin dey hit by one brutal conflict for 2020, sometin wey cause famine-like conditions.

Di conflict bin end last November afta di Ethiopian goment and di Tigray Pipo Liberation Front (TPLF) sign one peace deal wey di African Union (AU) broker.

Eritrean troops bjn fight for di conflict for di side of di Ethiopian army.

For much of di war di egion bjn dey under blockade, wey bin largely stop humanitarian aid.

AU envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, tok say around 600,000 pipo bin die for di two-year conflict. Researchers put di hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths down to fighting, starvation and lack of health care.

WFP and USAid bin rally to assist some six million Tigrayans, but announce "pause" for food aid afta dem discover for April say dia donations dey diverted to local markets. Dem no tok who bin dey behind di diversion.

"We simply bin no fit turn blind eye to di criminal activity and continue to deliver," one WFP tok-tok pesin tell BBC dis week

Di BBC don see food wit emblems of aid agencies like di WFP and USAid on packaging for markets for cities and towns for Tigray, including di capital, Mekelle.

However, e neva clear weda di food aid dey corruptly "diverted" or whether e dey sold to market owners by aid recipients wey dey desperate in need of cash.

WFP and USAid also announce one suspension of food aid to di rest of Ethiopia for June.

USAid di kontri largest food donor, wey dey help millions of pipo wey dey struggle sake of conflict, drought and di high cost of living.

One leaked memo by one independent donor group, wey some tori pipo quote for June, say e bin get one "co-ordinated and criminal scheme" wey obviously dey orchestrated by federal and regional goment entities, wit military units across di country dey benefit.

Ethiopia goment don dey investigate di allegations, but di findings neva dey released yet.

Ethiopia army don deny say troops bin benefit from any food aid wey dem tiff.

Di Tigray interim goment commissioner for disaster risk management, Gebrehiwet Gebrezgabher, tell BBC say since food aid don dey halted, 1,411 pipo don starve to death for three zones alone - di east, north-west and south-east.

Data from Tigray oda three zones neva dey collated, and di death toll go prove to dey much higher once dis dey done, Dr Gebrehiwet tok.

E add say 492 suspects bin dey under investigation, and 198 so far don dey charged for sake of say dem allegedly get had for di scam.

Among di suspects na goment officials, staff of non-governmental organisations, co-ordinators for camps wey dem build for pipo wey dey displaced sake of conflict, and "partners wey be distributors of food aid", Dr Gebrehiwet tok.

"Business pipo, especially those wey own food store and mills, also get hand" e add, as e point out say dia investigation don almost conclude.

Di BBC bin visit Shire, one of di biggest towns for Tigray, to see di effects of hunger.

One anaemic mama of three, Mebrhit Hailay, say she now dey forced to beg sake of lack of food.

"Most days, we go chop injera [one pancake-like fermented bread] wit salt. Di doctors advise me to get balanced diet, but from wia I go get am?" di 28-year-old tok.

Her two pikins, age five and two-and-a-half years, bin look thin, dia eyes sink and dia bony limbs bin stick out from dia clothes.

If lucky, dem go chop one meal one day, but on oda days dem go dey go to bed hungry, Ms Mebrhit tok.

Ms Mebrhit dey heavily pregnant wen di BBC meet her. Fee days later, she tell BBC say she dom give birth to one baby girl wet, fortunately, dey healthy.

For one local hospital, nurse Kibra Mebrahtu say many mothers no fit breastfeed sake of hunger, and "many children dey near death wen dem bring dem to dis hospital".

"We lost four dis month only. Di effects of di conflict, lack of food, lack of transport, dey quite evident," she tok.

Di BBC see eight-year-old Rahel Tewelde, wit ribs wey expose, for di hospital. She bin weigh only 10kg (22lb), di weight of one average one-year-old.

Her mama, Hiwet Lebasi, say she belief na corruption lead to di suspension of food aid.

"Had it been say dem distribute am properly, e for neva stop," she tok.

For June, USAid nin tok say dem go resume food aid only wen e dey "confident say assistance fo reach di ntended vulnerable populations".

Di WFP tok-tok say di agency dey speed up efforts to resume food aid. Dem don, in fact, start to distribute limited amount of food for some areas to test stringent new measures wey dey in place to "make sure food no gofall into di wrong hands again".

"WFP dey deeply worry about di impact any pause for assistance fit get on di lives of di families dem dey assist. Therefore, we dey put every practical safeguard for place to make sure say food assistance reach and dey used by di intended beneficiaries," di tok-tok pesin add.