The United Nations has warned that people in Ethiopia's Tigray region are on brink of famine. Tigray is the northernmost state in Ethiopia and homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob and Kunama peoples. In addition to facing possibility of starvation, people in Tigray have had to endure hardships that come with being involved in military conflict. In November 2020, fighting broke out between Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopia's army. The TPLF wants to overthrow Ethiopia's government. Neighbouring Eritrea has waded in on side of Ethiopia. This has escalated into the Tigray War, causing instability in region and increasing suffering for people.
The U.N. warned that: "Several areas in Tigray are on brink of famine. The situation will only keep getting worse unless needed funding is increased and humanitarian access is improved." It added: "People need to wake up. There is now risk of loss of life running into hundreds of thousands or worse. Businesses have been destroyed, the economy has been destroyed, crops have been destroyed, and farms have been destroyed." farmer in Tigray told the BBC: "We are eating small remains of crops that we have managed to hide, but now we don't have anything. Nobody has given us any aid. Almost everyone is on verge of death....Death is knocking on our door."
