Ethiopia: UN, 400,000 beyond the famine threshold in Tigrè

(ANSA) - UNITED NATIONS, 03 JUL - Over 400 thousand people have "crossed the threshold of famine" in Tigrè after eight months of war: this was stated by the interim undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and coordinator of UN emergency relief, Ramesh Rajasingham , launching an appeal for urgent humanitarian action in the Ethiopian region.

    As is well known, the fighting between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) resumed last month when the rebels recaptured their regional capital, Mekele. In addition, two key bridges were destroyed this week allowing aid to arrive in the region.

    Yesterday the United Nations Security Council held its first public meeting on a conflict that has caused thousands of deaths, plunging hundreds of thousands of people into hunger. The situation has "dramatically worsened" as the conflict has reignited over the past few weeks, Rajasingham said. "It is estimated that more than 400,000 people have crossed the threshold of famine and another 1.8 million people are on the brink of famine", the senior official continued, underlining that "33,000 children are severely malnourished".

    "The lives of many of these people (in Tigray) depend on our ability to reach them with food, medicine and other humanitarian aids," he added: "We need to contact them now. Not next week. Now."(HANDLE).