Sharjah24 – AFP: UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Monday that the situation in Ethiopia was "spiralling out of control" as fighting raged in the north of the country and the government vowed to seize control of airports and other sites in Tigray. "The situation in Ethiopia is spiralling out of control. Violence and destruction have reached alarming levels," Guterres told reporters at the United Nations.
International alarm has been mounting over the upsurge in combat in Tigray, where Ethiopian forces and troops from neighbouring Eritrea have stepped up an offensive near the city of Shire.
"Hostilities in the Tigray region of Ethiopia must end now," UN chief Antonio Guterres said, also calling for the "immediate withdrawal and disengagement" of Eritrean forces.
The EU and US also issued urgent appeals for a halt to the fighting, following on the heels of a call from the African Union for an immediate and unconditional truce.
Since the war began almost two years ago between federal forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), untold numbers of civilians have been killed, two million people have been driven from their homes and millions more are in need of aid.
AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat on Sunday urged the rivals to "recommit to dialogue" after both sides accepted an invitation to peace talks in South Africa that later failed to take place.
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