More than 400,000 people are starving in Tigray, 1.8 meters from the border Abiy Ahmed News

More than 400,000 people in Ethiopia’s Tigray are starving and another 1.8 million are on the verge of extinction, a senior UN official says it creates a devastating picture of a troubled region with humanitarian access. very limited.

Tigray has been embroiled in conflict since November 2020 when fighting broke out between the Ethiopian federal government – backed by nearby Eritrean troops and fighters in the Ethiopian Amhara region – and forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the northern regional government. .

The UN Security Council held its first public meeting on the conflict on Friday, after Tigrayan forces, in a shocking incident, retook the capital of the Mekelle region.

UN acting chief of staff Ramesh Rajasingham has told the council that the humanitarian situation in Tigray has worsened “tremendously” in recent weeks, and the number of people now hungry has risen by around 50,000.

“More than 400,000 people have exceeded the hunger limit and another 1.8 million people are on the verge of starvation. Some suggest the numbers are even higher. There are 33,000 children with severe malnutrition,” he said.

“Two million people are still displaced and about 5.2 million people still need humanitarian assistance. The vast majority are women and children. One of the most serious trends is the insecurity and hunger for food caused by the conflict. “

Ethiopian government declare unilateral ceasefire on Monday, TPLF dismissed as a “joke”. Since then, the region has experienced power and communication blackouts and in some places there have been reports of ongoing clashes as different forces control different areas.

Rosemary DiCarlo, head of UN policy and peace-building issues, said the reports indicate that the head of the TPLF, including his former president, Debretsion Gebremichael, has returned to Mekelle. “The main infrastructure has been destroyed and there are no flights entering or leaving the area,” he said.

DiCarlo, elsewhere in Tigray, told Eritrean forces that some of the worst atrocities committed during the war had been “withdrawn with Eritrea” to areas near the border.

Amhara forces remain in the west of Tigray, and DiCarlo said the Amhara branch of the ruling Prosperity Party warned in a June 29 appearance that during the conflict regional forces would remain in the territory occupied in the west.

“In short, there is a possibility of further and rapid deterioration in the security situation, which is very worrying,” he warned.

Ethiopian UN Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie Amde told reporters when asked if Amhara forces would remain west of Tigray, “that’s true.”

The ambassador from that part of Ethiopia said the western area was part of the Amhara but “was forcibly entered Tigray in 1990 without a proper process.” He said the dispute will now be presented to a government border commission.

Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi reported from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa that Tigray’s security situation is “complex and light”.

“Tigrayan fighters continue to gain ground; the central government and Eritrean forces are withdrawing; Fighters in the Amhara region, who control a large part of the western Tigray claimed by the two ethnic communities, say they will not leave – and have captured desperate civilians who want to return to normalcy.

On the humanitarian front, Rajasingham, the UN’s acting chief of aid, said in recent days that UN groups Mekelle, Shire and Axum have been able to move elsewhere, calling the development “positive”. The UN plans to send convoys to hard-to-reach places, but its World Food Program has enough food for a million people a month in Mekelle, he said.

“This is part of what we need,” Rajasingham said. “However, we have almost run out of health, water, sanitation and other kits without food. Food alone does not prevent hunger. “

Rajasingham called on “all armed and security actors” in Tigray to ensure access by road to humanitarian workers and supplies, using the fastest and most efficient means.

The alarm came on Thursday when the Tekeze River bridge was destroyed, “and the damage to the other two bridges – which cut off the main supply route to bring food and other life-saving supplies.”

Rajasingham called on the Ethiopian government to “repair these bridges immediately so as not to spread hunger.”

“What we are seeing in Tigray is a crisis of protection,” Rajasingham stressed, referring to civilians killed during the conflict, and denouncing more than 1,200 cases of serious sexual and gender-based violence, “which continue to create more.”

The Security Council did not take any action and made no statement after the first open meeting on the conflict, after six closed discussions.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the Ethiopian government “intends to actually use the ceasefire to deal with the humanitarian disaster,” warning that denial of aid “is not a sign of a humanitarian ceasefire.” , but of a siege ”.

Ethiopian ambassador Taye told reporters that the purpose of the ceasefire “is not to lay siege, but to save lives.”

He also questioned the need for a public safety council meeting and said the body had called for a ceasefire to improve access to assistance and “should encourage our friends to provide support and increase unhelpful pressure.” The government has said it hopes the ceasefire could also lead to dialogue.

While Russia and China did not oppose the public meeting on Tigray on Friday, they made it clear that they believed the conflict was an internal matter for Ethiopia. Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said: “We believe that the interference introduced by the Security Council in the solution is detrimental.”

Russia and China are both veto powers of the councils, along with the US, France and Britain.