The United Nations has submitted an appeal to the Ethiopian government to grant it further access to the more than 96,000 Eritrean refugees in the northern Tigray region.
The U.N. refugee commission said that it had received reports of food running out in the refugee camps and other concerning human rights violations.
The U.N.'s High Commissioner for Refugees, Babar Baloch, said in a meeting in Geneva that they have received troubling reports of mass starvations and other human rights violations occurring within the refugee camps.
"Our extreme worry is that we hear about attacks, the fighting near the camps, we hear about abductions and forced removals, so this is very important for us to have that access to go and see what has happened over there," Baloch said.
The U.N., which has described the monthlong conflict as a "humanitarian crisis," said that the food shortage in refugee camps needs to be addressed. It is asking the Ethiopian government to assist it in delivering necessary supplies and medicine to those camps.
As of Wednesday, the conflict in the region has now reached its first month since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military campaign against the Tigray People's Liberation Front. Federal forces had managed to take back control of the Tigray capital of Mekelle over the weekend but front leaders still remain at large.
During the campaign, a nationwide communications blackout was placed into effect. Internet access, telephone, and all other forms of communications have been severed, making it hard for nonprofit organizations and human rights groups to ascertain the true situation of civilians caught in the crossfire.
Baloch said Tuesday that "concerns are growing by the hour" as more reports of human rights violations have continued to come in. He said that many of the refugee camps have already run out of food and many could die of starvation or malnutrition if nothing is done.
Abiy had said that the government will be creating a "humanitarian corridor" through the Tigray region for the delivery of supplies to refugees. However, the U.N. said that it wants to have "neutral and unhindered" access to the area.
The U.N. claims that there are at least 2 million people in the region that badly needs international assistance. It added that at least a million people have been displaced and tens of thousands have fled into neighboring countries as refugees.
