As the United National General Assembly continues in New York, 30 organizations issued a joint open letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and permanent representatives of Security Council member states.

They call on them to take urgent action to end violence and famine in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. 

Since November 2020, civilians in northern Ethiopia have been cut off from assistance, banking, and communications, leaving almost 1 million people to experience famine conditions, with many more on the brink.

According to the organisations, fighting in the region has been marked by   widespread human rights abuses including sexual violence, starvation as a weapon of war, and mass displacement.

Abdullahi Hassan reports.