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Ethiopian soldiers on their way to the front in the Tigray region
Photo: Ben Curtis / dpa
According to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the situation in Ethiopia is "threatening to get out of control".
Guterres called on Monday for hostilities in the Tigray region to "end immediately."
"The level of violence and destruction is appalling," Guterres added.
The Eritrean troops would have to withdraw from Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian central government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed is unimpressed.
It wants to continue its attacks on the rebel region of Tigray even after the announcement of peace talks.
The aim is to bring the region's airports under control, the government also announced on Monday.
In doing so, Abiy Ahmed's government ignored an appeal by the African Union for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.
She also blamed the rebels for the renewed escalation of the conflict since late August.
Ethiopia's military, together with Eritrean forces, has repeatedly engaged in heavy fighting with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which is demanding more autonomy for its ethnic group.
Human rights organizations complain that serious war crimes and ethnic cleansing have taken place on both sides.
According to the World Health Organization, around 5.2 million of the more than seven million people in Tigray are dependent on humanitarian aid.
In addition to the UN, the EU also called for the immediate cessation of the joint offensive by the Ethiopian and Eritrean armed forces.
In a statement, the international community called for the complete withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Ethiopia.
She also called on the Tigray forces to refrain from further military operations and to cease hostilities in the neighboring Amhara and Afar areas.
In a press conference after a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the situation had never been so bad, both in military and humanitarian terms.
The peace talks between the government and the TPLF in South Africa, initially planned for October 8, have been postponed indefinitely.
On Sunday, the Tigray rebels reaffirmed in a statement that they wanted to stop fighting.
At the same time, the TPLF accused the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea of plotting genocide against the Tigray.
dop/dpa/AFP