Ethiopia’s Tigrayan regional police have sought to interrogate at least three local staff members of the World Food Programme, triggering a diplomatic standoff with the Rome-based food agency — the latest development in the food aid theft that wracked the country earlier this year, according to three humanitarian sources familiar with the matter.
The United Nations food outfit — whose workers enjoy immunity for official U.N. activities — has not yet complied with the request, and has asked for clarification from the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry to determine whether there are grounds to do so.
It remains unclear whether the U.N. aid workers are suspected of involvement in the wide-ranging food aid diversion scandal that resulted in the shutdown of the U.N.’s massive Ethiopian food aid operations this year, or whether they are simply believed to have knowledge of the scandal.
About the authors
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
Colum Lynch
Colum Lynch is an award-winning reporter and Senior Global Reporter for Devex. He covers the intersection of development, diplomacy, and humanitarian relief at the United Nations and beyond. Prior to Devex, Colum reported on foreign policy and national security for Foreign Policy Magazine and the Washington Post. Colum was awarded the 2011 National Magazine Award for digital reporting for his blog Turtle Bay. He has also won an award for groundbreaking reporting on the U.N.’s failure to protect civilians in Darfur.
