The U.N. has warned that people in Ethiopia's Tigray region are on the brink of a famine. The northern state of Tigray is home to the Tigrayan, Irob and Kunama peoples. In addition to facing starvation, people in Tigray have had to endure additional hardships because of a military conflict. In November, the Tigray People's Liberation Front started fighting Ethiopia's army to overthrow the government. Neighbouring Eritrea joined on the side of Ethiopia. This escalated into the Tigray War. It has caused instability in the region and has increased people's suffering.
The U.N. warned that: "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 the risk of a loss of life running into the hundreds of thousands or worse." It said businesses, the economy, crops and farms have been destroyed. A farmer in Tigray said: "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 the verge of death....Death is knocking on our door."