Life for civilians in Ethiopia's embattled Tigray region has become "extremely alarming" as hunger grows and fighting remains an obstacle to reaching millions of people with aid, the United Nations says in a new report.
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The conflict that has shaken one of Africa's most powerful and populous countries, a key US security ally in the Horn of Africa, has killed thousands of people and is now in its fourth month. But little is known about the situation for most of Tigray's 6 million people, as journalists are blocked from entering, communications are patchy and many aid workers struggle to obtain permission to enter.
One challenge is that Ethiopia may no longer control up to 40% of the Tigray region, the UN Security Council was told in a closed-door session this week. Ethiopia and allied fighters have been pursuing the now-fugitive Tigray regional government that once dominated Ethiopia's government for nearly three decades. Now soldiers from Eritrea are deeply involved on the side of Ethiopia, even as Addis Ababa denies their presence.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was the latest to pressure Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed directly, urging the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner in a phone call to allow "immediate, full and unhindered" aid access to Tigray before more people die.
