Ethiopia: Heavy Casualties in Tigray due to Ethnic wars

The UN said that nine million people are at risk of displacement due to the raging conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

They warned that the federal government's declaration of a state of emergency prevents the provision of food and other aid.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed continues a military campaign against the Northern Territory, despite international appeals to reach a dialogue with the Tigray people.

On Friday, Abiy pledged to continue the airstrikes in the Northern Territory though the initial strikes targeted weapons stores and military sites.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in a report issued yesterday, said that about 600,000 people in the Northern Territory are dependent on food aid, while another million others are receiving other forms of support, all of which just stopped.

The report stated that clashes between federal and Tigray forces erupted in eight different locations in the region.

A source said today that six militants were killed and more than 60 wounded in clashes near the border between Tigray and Amhara provinces.

The two sides incurred losses and some of the wounded were taken to hospitals in or near the town of Gondar.

The UN report stated that the desert locust invasion of East Africa has particularly affected Tigray, and there are concerns that the efforts to control locusts would be halted due to the conflict.

Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for achieving peace with Eritrea. Upon receiving the award, he described the war as a "microcosm of hell."

He twitted that his military campaign aims to "put an end to the impunity that has prevailed for a long time," referring to the domination of the Tigrayans over the country's politics before his reign.

The rivalry between Abiy and his former allies worsened since he arrested dozens of senior military and political officials from Tigray.