The lives of millions of Ethiopians in the north of the country are under threat as aid supplies are not reaching the conflict-hit area, the UN has said.
In a stark warning, it said that there was in effect an aid blockade on the Tigray region.
A spokesperson for the government has denied that supplies are being halted.
Ten months of fighting between the federal army and its allies and Tigray rebel forces has left many in desperate need of assistance.
"The lives of millions of civilians... depend on our capacity to reach them with food, nutrition supplies, medicine and other critical assistance," Grant Leaity, the UN's acting humanitarian coordinator for Ethiopia, said.
The UN estimates that 5.2 million people need urgent assistance if "the world's worst famine situation in decades" is to be averted.
Although aid can now move more easily than before within Tigray itself, there is a problem getting aid trucks into the region, according to Mr Leaity.
The only viable land route at the moment is through the neighbouring Afar region, but he says that logistical and bureaucratic hold-ups have led to long delays.
Continue reading https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-58420509
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