UN chief: 'Situation in Ethiopia is spiraling out of control'

The UN chief warned Monday that "the situation in Ethiopia is spiraling out of control" and demanded that hostilities in the rebel-held Tigray region end.

"Violence and destruction have reached alarming levels. The social fabric is being ripped apart," said Antonio Guterres at a press conference.

"Indiscriminate attacks -- including in residential areas -- are killing more innocent people every day, damaging critical infrastructure and limiting access to vital services," said the UN chief.

The UN chief's call came after the Ethiopian government said Monday it will take control of airports and federal government facilities from the Tigray region and that the move will help safeguard the nation's territorial integrity.

He called for the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean armed forces from Ethiopia.

He said that civilians are paying a "horrific" price, with hundreds of thousands of people having been forced to flee their homes since hostilities resumed in August, many of them for the second time.

"We are also hearing disturbing accounts of sexual violence and other acts of brutality against women, children and men," he added.

Guterres urged all parties to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law.

"The United Nations is ready to support the African Union in every possible way to end this nightmare for the Ethiopian people," he said. "We need the urgent resumption of talks towards an effective, lasting political settlement."

Thousands of people have been killed in Ethiopia as government forces have been fighting Tigrayan rebels since November 2020.