Over 8 million Ethiopians need food aid due to violence, drought -government

FILE PHOTO: A man walks near a carcass of a dead cow in Farado Kebele, one of the drought-stricken regions in Ethiopia, January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - More than eight million people need food aid in Ethiopia, a 5 percent rise from last year, due to a surge in violence that has triggered mass displacement as well as the lingering effects of past droughts, officials said on Thursday.

The crisis has prompted an Ethiopian government appeal for $1.3 billion to provide emergency food and non-food assistance for 8.3 million people.