New York (USA), February 3: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday voiced serious concern over the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia's Tigray region and asked for urgent steps to alleviate it.
"The secretary-general remains seriously concerned over the situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. He attaches strong importance to the partnership between the government of Ethiopia and the United Nations, through its country team, in addressing the acute humanitarian needs of all affected populations," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, in a statement.
The secretary-general underlined the need for continued urgent steps to alleviate the humanitarian situation and extend necessary protection to those at risk, said the statement.
In this context, Guterres welcomed the positive engagement of the government of Ethiopia during recent visits by senior UN officials, including High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, Undersecretary-General for Security and Safety Gilles Michaud, and head of the World Food Programme, David Beasley. These engagements were undertaken in line with the secretary-general's call to the government for sustained, impartial and unimpeded humanitarian access to affected areas in Tigray and to internally displaced persons and refugee camps, it said.
The humanitarian situation in Tigray worsened after the Ethiopian government launched military operations in November 2020 against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which rules Ethiopia's northernmost Tigray state.
Source: Xinhua
