New Threat of Starvation in Ethiopia, Sudan

The lives of up to 5 million Ethiopians are at risk because anti-government forces have shut down a port that has been the key entry point for outside food assistance, U.S. officials say.

Further aggravating the situation has been the prospect of severely diminished harvests throughout northern Ethiopia as a result of poor rainfall.

To the west, U.S. officials say a crisis is rapidly developing in Sudan, where a bitter civil war has prevented the transport of relief supplies to rebel-held territory in the southern part of the country.

President Bush sent a letter to the Sudanese president last week asking for his cooperation in restarting the international relief effort, to which the United States contributes $15.7 million.

Estimates of the number of Sudanese potentially affected by famine range between 1 million and 3 million.

In Ethiopia, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front captured the crucial Red Sea port of Massawa earlier this month, shutting down the point of entry for relief supplies.

The capture has halted the flow of food for the needy in Eritrea and also in provinces further south, including Tigre, where Ethiopia’s Marxist government is being challenged by yet another rebel group.

“We’re trying to explore options for getting the food in,” said Andrew Natsios, director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.

He added that a “worst nightmare” scenario is developing--a civil war and a famine in the same area at the same time.

The situation evokes memories of the 1984-85 period in Ethiopia, when more than a million people died, primarily because of drought.

Renewed drought last year in Ethiopia touched off a major international relief program led by the United States and the European Community, both of which funnel food donations through private organizations. Other contributing countries include Canada and Australia.

Thus far, the United States has either delivered or pledged more than $70 million to the relief effort. The figure for the rest of the international community is about $84 million, according to U.S. estimates.