U.N. warns catastrophe looms in Ethiopia's north, urges government to end de facto aid blockade

FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian porters unload food aid bound for victims of war after a checkpoint leading to Tigray in Mai Tsebri town, Ethiopia June 26, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A de facto blockade on aid to the Tigray region in Ethiopia's north is bringing millions of people to the brink of famine, the United Nations humanitarian agency said on Thursday, warning of "looming catastrophe".

The U.N. agency OCHA called on all parties in a 10-month-old war in Tigray to allow the movement of aid into the region where it said 5.2 million people, or 90% of the population, urgently need humanitarian assistance. Those include 400,000 people who are already facing famine conditions, it said.