UN: Drivers of Humanitarian Aids Trucks Held by Hijackers

On Monday, a United Nations spokesman announced that the drivers of eighteen trucks carrying aid are being held by a hijacker military group in the region of Amhara in northern Ethiopia.

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"The World Food Programme (WFP) and its non-governmental organization (NGO) partners strongly condemn the commandeering of its trucks and assets, as well as forcible threats to their staff," decreed Farhan Haq.

 "A group of armed individuals -- believed to be either from the Ethiopian National Defense Forces or an affiliated allied military force -- entered the Disaster Risk Management Committee compound in Kombolcha and took 18 WFP trucks by force," said Haq on Monday.

Earlier on Monday, the hijackers returned fifteen of the eighteen trucks, but the location of some drivers is still unknown. The Ethiopian federal government and local ones in Dessie are aiding in the quick recovery of the remaining trucks, Haq said.

The spokesman said that the drivers were not among the detained UN staff last month by the federal authorities in Addis Ababa, north of Amhara.

"We still have ten staffers and two dependents under detention," Haq said.

"Under international humanitarian law, it is prohibited to attack, destroy, misappropriate, or loot relief supplies, installations, material, units, or vehicles," he added.