GONDAR, Ethiopia — For days, 19 humanitarian personnel in Ethiopia’s Tigray region had no flights out, no road they could count on and unreliable communications. On 30 September, they reached Gondar, in the neighbouring Amhara Region, after an overland movement coordinated with Ethiopian authorities across a rapidly changing security environment.
“We had no flights, no safe roads and unreliable communications, and 19 humanitarian personnel who were on mission in the Tigray Region who needed to get out,”
“We had no flights, no safe roads and unreliable communications, and 19 humanitarian personnel who were on mission in the Tigray Region who needed to get out,” said Prince Bruce, UNDSS’ Chief Security Adviser for Ethiopia and Djibouti, who travelled from Addis Ababa to the Tekeze River crossing to oversee the movement.
The group comprised nine UN staff and 10 personnel from international humanitarian organizations. They had been in Tigray when fighting escalated on 23 September, disrupting movement and communications across Tigray and parts of Amhara.
As conditions deteriorated, UNDSS increased check-ins with UN personnel in Tigray from once to twice a day, helping ensure that the location of every colleague was known. “A route that looked workable in the morning could be closed by evening,” said Dereje Achamyele, a Field Security Associate with UNDSS based in Gondar. One overland route remained viable. Using it required security clearances and agreement among authorities at several points along the way. UNDSS Area Security Adviser Julius King in Mekelle and Field Security Associates in Tigray and Amhara coordinated the movement on both sides of the crossing, maintained communications and liaised with security officials along the route.
OCHA, WFP and Plan International worked alongside UNDSS, providing vehicles and logistical support. At the Tekeze crossing, the Ethiopian National Defense Force facilitated the handover of personnel between the two regions. “Sometimes we had to make hard decisions with very little information on how events were unfolding, because lives were at stake,” said Bruce.
For the 19 colleagues, reaching Gondar brought relief after days of uncertainty. “The situation was genuinely frightening at times, but it was clear throughout that our safety was UN Security’s absolute priority, and that made all the difference,” one colleague wrote afterwards.
“The situation was genuinely frightening at times, but it was clear throughout that our safety was UN Security’s absolute priority, and that made all the difference.”
The colleague thanked Prince for travelling to personally ensure their safe arrival, as well as the teams who carried out the security assessment, coordinated the movement and made sure “no one was left behind”. Another colleague described the support shown during the crisis as a reminder that, beyond their work, “we are truly a family”.
Groundwork laid before the crisis
The movement drew on years of work under Saving Lives Together, the framework through which UN security professionals, humanitarian organizations and host-country authorities share security information and coordinate their arrangements.
In Ethiopia, UNDSS has worked with the Ethiopian Federal Police, the Ethiopia National Defense Force and the Addis Ababa Police Commission to develop a common approach to security that brings together UN entities, international NGOs and host-country authorities. With the Federal Police, UNDSS Ethiopia, led by instructor Teshale Deriba, has also delivered the Safe and Secure Approaches in Field Environments (SSAFE) course at the Federal Police University in Sendafa. Around 1,000 UN and NGO personnel have completed the course over the past two years.
The movement on 30 September drew on those established relationships, local knowledge and coordination. When conditions changed, they helped make a difficult journey possible.
The fighting has not stopped. About 240 UN personnel and 1,700 personnel from international NGOs and implementing partners are currently operating in Tigray. Continued conflict risks further displacement of affected communities and could make it more difficult for humanitarian personnel to reach those in need.
UNDSS continues twice-daily check-ins with UN personnel in Tigray while working with partners to monitor the situation and support humanitarian operations.