Ethiopia airs claims about UN officials; UN seeks documents

By JENNIFER PELTZ
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Days after kicking out seven U.N. officials, Ethiopia is accusing them without providing evidence of inflating the magnitude of humanitarian crisis in its Tigray region. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres responded Wednesday by pressing the country for documentation of the allegations. The exchange happened at a Security Council meeting. Ethiopian Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie said the seven officials boosted the number of needy people by over 1 million and invented a dozen deaths in a camp for displaced people, among other allegations. Guterres asked the ambassador to provide any written documents about the alleged wrongdoing. Guterres maintains Ethiopia had no right under the U.N. charter to expel the officials.