At least 1,400 people have starved to death in Ethiopia's northern Tigray since food aid was suspended because it was being stolen, an official has said.
A five-month truce stands broken and peace efforts hampered as fighting broke out on Wednesday in northern Ethiopia between government forces and Tigrayan rebels.
The fresh offensive as per AFP comes after the Ethiopian Air force's announcement that it has downed a plane carrying weapons for the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
UN chief Antonio Guterres expressed his "deep shock" at the recent renewal of hostilities and urged for an "immediate cessation of hostilities and for the resumption of peace talks".
The war in Ukraine has been ongoing for about five months now and in this time the plight of Ukrainians has grabbed the attention of the world, while the plight of civilians in Ethiopia's war-shattered Tigray region remains unnoticed. Is it because of racism? Is it because Ukrainians have "fair skin and blue eyes" while Tigrainians possess darker skin?
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization thinks so. He has suggested that racism is to blame for the lack of concern given by the world community to the situation of people in Tigray.