Researchers have verified 1,329 hunger deaths in Ethiopia’s Tigray region since the cease-fire there

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Researchers say they have verified 1,329 deaths from hunger in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region since a cease-fire ended a two-year conflict there in November. A study by local health authorities and Mekele University in the regional capital found that hunger is now the main cause of death in Tigray, accounting for more than 68% of deaths investigated by the researchers. The total number of hunger deaths is almost certainly far higher than the sampling shows. One factor is the suspension of food aid by the United States and United Nations after the discovery in March of a huge scheme to steal humanitarian grain.