World Health Organization (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday warned that time is running out "to prevent genocide" in his home region of Tigray in northern Ethiopia.
"There is no other situation globally in which 6 million people have been kept under siege for almost two years," Tedros told reporters in Geneva, charging that "banking, fuel, food, electricity and health care are being used as weapons of war."
Tedros, a former health and foreign minister of Ethiopia, warned of a health crisis in the region, calling on the international community and the media "to give this crisis the attention it deserves."
"There is a narrow window now to prevent genocide," the WHO chief said.
Tedros has been critical of the Ethiopian government throughout the conflict and has seen backlash because of it, with Addis Ababa accusing him earlier this year of interfering in the internal affairs of Ethiopia and accusing him of not living up to the integrity and professional expectations required of his office.
Since November 2020, the central government in Ethiopia has been engaged in heavy fighting with the rebellious Tigray People's Liberation Front, a conflict that has torn Africa's second-most populous country apart, caused a dire humanitarian situation in the country's north, destabilized the Horn of Africa and led to accusations of atrocities.
According to the WHO, some 5.2 million of the 7 million people in Tigray are dependent on humanitarian aid.
Fighting between the warring sides flared up again in August. Earlier this month they agreed on peace talks under the leadership of the African Union. These were to take place in South Africa on October 8 but were postponed indefinitely.
