Mekelle፡Addis Abab,Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Tigray Herald).
The emergency appeal document capturing the catastrophic famine, drought, and hunger crisis in Kola Tembien-Yaqer, and condemning the betrayal of the region by the TPLF Above-the-Core faction and the failed Tigray Interim President, General Tadesse Worede.
The document is issued under Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review, Tigray Herald Editorial Board, and Tigray Media Watch – Digital Intelligence Monitoring Group, with powerful narrative titles, structured sections, emotional resonance, and factual gravitas to move Tigrayan diaspora, civic organizations, and international humanitarian agencies to action.
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“Forgotten Flames of Kola Tembien-Yaqer”
The Starving Backbone of Resistance Betrayed by the Very Forces It Sheltered
📍Issued by:
Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review
Tigray Herald Editorial Board
Tigray Media Watch – Digital Intelligence Monitoring Group
📆 Date: August 2025
📍 Region: Kola Tembien-Yaqer, Central Tigray Zone
🔴 URGENT HUMANITARIAN APPEAL
To the Global Tigrayan Diaspora, Civic Institutions, Faith-Based Networks, and International Emergency Agencies
🧭 I. Executive Summary
Kola Tembien–particularly the Yaqer Tabia in the central Tigray zone–is facing one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in the post-war era. An escalating famine, prolonged drought, and engineered economic blockade have combined into a deliberate policy of starvation, implemented with malice and betrayal by the very military-political elite who once found refuge in these communities.
While thousands suffer in silence, the TPLF Above-the-Core faction and General Tadesse Worede—the de facto military ruler of the interim administration—are celebrating with fanfare, launching books, and plotting another genocidal war in alliance with Eritrea’s PFDJ regime under the banner of “ጽምዶ”.
The people of Kola Tembien-Yaqer, who sacrificed their sons and daughters for Tigray’s survival during the genocidal war, are now dying of hunger, neglected, and betrayed.
🧱 II. The Backbone of Resistance Now in Ruins
During the height of the genocidal war (2020–2022), Kola Tembien’s valleys, caves, and highlands became sanctuaries for wounded fighters, political leaders, and TDF command. The civilians of Yaqer gave shelter, food, and their children to defend the idea of Tigray’s survival.
> “When leadership collapsed, and we were scattered by the enemy… it was the people of Yaqer who sheltered us.”
– TDF Veteran Commander’s Testimony (2022)
Their homes became makeshift hospitals, their livestock was sacrificed for resistance, and many gave up their lives protecting what the elites now exploit.
Yet today, these same civilians are:
Dying of starvation and thirst
Trapped by military roadblocks and checkpoints
Unable to sell cattle or access grain markets
Watching their children and animals perish
Forgotten by the very leaders they once saved
🌾 III. Manufactured Famine: Nature and Betrayal Collide
Though drought is a natural challenge, the famine in Kola Tembien-Yaqer is not an accident of nature. It is engineered:
Deliberate military roadblocks set up by the fascistic Division 60, commanded by General Henesa Gebregiorgis, block aid, trade, and mobility.
Checkpoints deny farmers the ability to sell livestock or buy food.
Crops on 650+ hectares have withered due to lack of rain and zero state support.
Over 27,000 livestock have perished, and 22 people—7 of them children—have already died from hunger in Yaqer Tab alone.
900+ households are now on the brink of collapse.
This is not just a drought.
It is a crime of famine by design.
⚠️ IV. TPLF Above-the-Core’s Criminal Negligence
While mothers in Yaqer feed their children tree bark and cry themselves to sleep, the TPLF’s Above-the-Core clique is:
Spending millions of birr on military parades, book launches, and secret coordination meetings with Eritrea’s PFDJ.
Silencing local journalists and blocking humanitarian assessments.
Using “ጽምዶ” as a cover to prepare for yet another war of power—not survival.
Exploiting historical TDF sacrifice for current authoritarian consolidation.
General Tadesse Worede, a man accused of war crimes, corruption, and illegal gold mining, is complicit in the mass starvation of civilians by diverting aid, withholding emergency resources, and weaponizing institutional indifference.
🕊️ V. International Legal and Moral Implications
The situation in Kola Tembien-Yaqer meets the criteria of a man-made famine, possibly rising to the level of crimes against humanity under international law.
Under Article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Rome Statute, the act of intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prosecutable.
We urge:
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
World Food Programme (WFP)
To immediately deploy a humanitarian verification team and demand unimpeded access to the Tembien Valley region.
📢 VI. An Urgent Appeal to the Tigrayan Diaspora & Civic Society
Your silence is complicity. Your voice is protection.
We call on every:
Diaspora Tigrayan community organization
Civic and religious institution
Academic, lawyer, and medical network
Human rights advocate and public intellectual
To mobilize, fundraise, campaign, and pressure for immediate action.
🛑 VII. Our Demands
1. Immediate humanitarian air-drop mission into Kola Tembien-Yaqer
2. Removal of all military checkpoints in and around the Tembien Valley
3. Accountability of Division 60 and General Henesa Gebregiorgis
4. Full investigation into famine-related deaths under General Tadesse Worede’s administration
5. A UN Commission of Inquiry into starvation crimes in central Tigray
6. International pressure for a genuinely civilian-led Tigray interim administration
✊🏽 VIII. Narrative Remembrance
> “Yaqer fed the wounded and buried the dead. It sheltered the future when hope had run dry. Today, Yaqer is starving not just for food—but for justice.”
🔚 IX. Final Words: What Will History Say of Us?
Let not the blood of Tigray’s martyrs be dishonored by today’s betrayal.
Let not the valleys of Kola Tembien be remembered as graves of the forgotten.
Let history say we stood up when it mattered most—not with words, but with food, with aid, with justice.
📩 Contact & Coordination
To join emergency support efforts, partner with advocacy campaigns, or contribute aid logistics, please contact:
📬 Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review
📬 Tigray Herald Editorial Board
📬 Tigray Media Watch – Emergency Desk
📧 Email: [TMWHumanitarian@protonmail.com]
📞 Hotline: +44-7721753723.
📌 Telegram: @TigrayCrisisResponse
