Government offers ports for food aid to Ethiopia

The Eritrean government has announced it will allow the use of its Red Sea ports of Massawa and Assab for the delivery of emergency food aid to Ethiopia. Some 14 million Ethiopians are facing food shortages due to a prolonged drought in the region that has affected much of the Horn of Africa. Similarly, in Eritrea the government estimates that some 1.4 million people will face food shortages in the near future. A statement released by the foreign ministry last week said Eritrea was making the gesture as it was "conscious of its humanitarian obligations in the midst of a humanitarian crisis of huge proportions and because it has no desire to penalise destitute populations in Ethiopia for the wrongs done by their government". "The government of Eritrea expresses its good will to facilitate the international effort to assist the famine victims in Ethiopia by providing the services of its ports for expeditious delivery of humanitarian assistance," the statement said. The port of Assab in particular has stood largely dormant since the 1998 border war between the two countries. It was once the primary port through which imports passed on their way to Ethiopia.