Ethiopia's government is not blocking aid to the remote Ogaden region, but trade restrictions combined with floods could trigger a humanitarian crisis there, the U.N. World Food Programme said on Tuesday.
A rebel group in the desolate area bordering Somalia demanded a U.N. investigation after The New York Times quoted Western diplomats and aid officials on Sunday accusing Ethiopian authorities of stopping food aid reaching the Ogaden region.
A WFP spokesman in Nairobi said the government was not "blockading" Ogaden because WFP was distributing food in three of the region's zones, while assessments had started or were about to start in its other three zones.
But it and other donors were concerned, he said.
Restrictions on trade and the movement of aid due to military operations, as well as seasonal floods, rising prices and other factors could cause a humanitarian crisis among some communities, the WFP's Peter Smerdon told Reuters.
"The military operations and restrictions on movement in some areas have affected all humanitarian actors providing assistance ... including other U.N. agencies and NGOs, but we are working with the government to gain access," Smerdon said.
Ethiopian government officials have not been available to comment on the newspaper article or the rebels' claims.
ICRC EJECTED
But the Somali state's regional government, in charge of the Ogaden, ordered the International Committee of the Red Cross to leave the area within seven days, accusing it of collaborating with rebels.
