UN warns of worsening famine in Tigray
The United Nations warns of the worsening famine in Tigray, the Ethiopian government accuses Tigray People's Liberation Front of attacking relief convoys.
An unpublished report conducted by United Nations agencies and aid groups revealed that about 350,000 people across the city of Tigray in northern Ethiopia are suffering from fifth-stage famine.
The report, likely to be published on Thursday, concluded that millions in Tigray need "urgent food and agricultural and livelihood support to prevent them from further slipping into famine."
The head of the Ethiopian National Authority for Disaster Control and Preparedness, Mituku Kassa, denied that the country suffers from any food shortage and in his statements he attacked the Tigray People's Liberation Front during his statements today, accusing it of attacking relief convoys.
In turn, the United Nations spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, stressed the need to transport foodstuffs to the northwestern regions of Tigray following the burning and looting of crops that the region witnessed.
Fighting broke November out in Tigray between government forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the ruling party in the region.
Forces from neighboring Eritrea intervened in the conflict in support of the Ethiopian government.
The violence in Tigray has killed thousands and displaced more than two million in the mountainous region, where more than five million people live.