Ethiopian and Eritrean troops are fighting against the regional government and local rebels in the Tigray War, which began in November 2020. The war has been characterized by horrific sexual violence against women, according to an Amnesty International report.

“Some 400,000 people, including at least 160,000 children,” are “in famine-like conditions,” UNICEF said in a statement. In June, Pope Francis demanded that food aid reach the starving people there.