This archive report was first published on 3 July 2021.
Published on July 2, 2021, the United Nations Security Council held its first public meeting on the conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia, which has left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands in hunger.
According to Ramesh Rajasingham, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, more than 400,000 people are estimated to have crossed the threshold into famine, and another 1.8 million people are on the brink of famine.
"Some are suggesting that the numbers are even higher," he said. "33,000 children are severely malnourished."
The situation in Tigray has worsened dramatically as the conflict reignited in recent weeks, with the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) engaged in a brutal eight-month long conflict.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, sent troops into Tigray last November to detain and disarm leaders of the regional ruling party, the TPLF.
However, after the rebels retook Mekele and asserted control over most of the region, the government announced a unilateral ceasefire that the TPLF has dismissed as "a joke."
Senior UN official Rosemary DiCarlo urged the group to "immediately and completely" endorse the ceasefire, saying it would facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid and be a starting point for the necessary political efforts to chart a way out of the crisis.
"A ceasefire observed by all parties would not only facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid but would also be a starting point for the necessary political efforts to chart a way out of the crisis," DiCarlo said.
The war has already exerted a staggering humanitarian toll, with the United States estimating 900,000 civilians are "likely already experiencing famine conditions".
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) says 5.2 million people, or 91 percent of Tigray's population, need emergency food assistance.
On Friday, the WFP said it had resumed aid operations after a two-day pause but added that lives were still in the balance after the two major bridges leading into Tigray were destroyed.
"Lives will be lost if supply routes into Tigray do not fully open and parties to the conflict continue to disrupt or endanger free movement of cargo for WFP and other emergency responders," the WFP said.
