UN chief says ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ unfolding in Ethiopia

Antonio Guterres tells the UN Security Council the conflict in Tigray is threatening the country’s social fabric.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned the Security Council the conflict in Ethiopia has spread beyond the Tigray region and “a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding before our eyes”. “Inflammatory rhetoric and ethnic profiling are tearing apart the social fabric of the country,” he told the 15-member council on Thursday. “All parties must immediately end hostilities without preconditions and seize that opportunity to negotiate a lasting ceasefire.” Guterres said more than two million people have been displaced from their homes, and millions more are in immediate need of life-saving humanitarian assistance – including food, water, shelter and healthcare.