Sexual violence being used as weapon of war in Ethiopia's Tigray, U.N. says

FILE PHOTO: Ethiopians, who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, carry their belongings after crossing the Setit River on the Sudan-Ethiopia border, in the eastern Kassala state, Sudan December 16, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war in Ethiopia's Tigray, the U.N. aid chief told the Security Council on Thursday, prompting the U.S. envoy to challenge the body's silence, asking: "Do African lives not matter as much as those experiencing conflict in other countries?"

The U.N. official, Mark Lowcock, said the humanitarian crisis in Tigray had deteriorated over the past month with challenges to aid access and people dying of hunger. He said the world body had not seen any proof that soldiers from neighboring Eritrea - accused of massacres and killings in Tigray - have withdrawn.