Bob Geldof has lashed out at British media claims that millions of dollars raised by Band Aid were diverted to Ethiopian rebels who used the cash to buy weapons.

A former Ethiopian rebel commander told a BBC radio program that 95 per cent of aid money donated to help victims of the 1985 Ethiopian famine was siphoned off, The Times online reports.

In response to the allegations, an outraged Geldof told The Times that “it would be a f***ing tragedy” if the people stopped giving to charity because of allegations made by the same broadcaster that inspired him to fight poverty and hunger in Africa.

His journey from rocker to fund-raiser began in December 1984 when he and his partner, Paula Yates, watched BBC reporter Michael Buerk's report on the unfolding famine in Ethiopia.

The tragedy so incensed Geldof that he formed Band Aid and organised the Live Aid concert, raising $250 million for famine victims.

However, two former senior commanders in the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front told the BBC yesterday that the vast majority of the money was stolen by rebels to buy weapons for their fight to overthrow the Ethiopian Government.

Former rebel army commander Aregawi Berhe told a BBC investigation that 95 per cent of the money was divided up by rebel army leader Meles Zenawi, who is Ethiopia's current prime minister.

According to The Times, Mr Berhe told the BBC that rebels put on a “drama” to get their hands on the relief money, posing as merchants and handing over bags of sand instead of grain in exchange for cash delivered by naive Western aid workers.

“If that percentage of money had been diverted, far more than a million people would have died,” he told The Times. “It's possible that in one of the worst, longest-running conflicts on the continent some money was mislaid. But to suggest it was on this scale is just b******s.”

Geldof blamed the story on the grievances nursed by the two former rebel commanders, who now live in exile in the Netherlands.


Source: theage.com.au