On Friday, the 15-membered United Nations Security Council (UNSC) expressed 'deep concern about the expansion and intensification of military clashes in northern Ethiopia' and urged the warring sides to negotiate a "lasting ceasefire".

The UNSC has also called for an unhindered access for humanitarian aid to tackle the world’s worst hunger crisis in a decade in the war-torn Tigray region.

The body expressed serious concern about the impact of the conflict on “the stability of the country and the wider region,” and called on all parties to refrain “from inflammatory hate speech and incitement to violence and divisiveness.”

"The members of the Security Council called for refraining from inflammatory hate speech and incitement to violence and divisiveness, and respect of international humanitarian law, for safe and unhindered humanitarian access, the re-establishment of public services, and further urged the scaling up of humanitarian assistance," the UN Security Council stated in an official press statement.

“Today the Security Council breaks six months of silence and speaks again with one united voice on the deeply concerning situation in Ethiopia,” said Ireland’s U.N. Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason. “For the first time, the Council clearly calls for a cessation of hostilities. We believe this should happen immediately, and that all civilians must be protected.”

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, spoke with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta wherein the two reportedly discussed the security situation in Ethiopia.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement, "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta today to discuss regional security issues of mutual interest, including the situation in Ethiopia. The Secretary thanked the President for his continued leadership to promote peace and prosperity in the region."

The yearlong conflict between federal government troops and Tigrayan forces has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 2.5 million people.

The UN has said up to 7 million people in the regions of Tigray, Amhara and Afar need help, including 5 million in Tigray where some 400,000 people are estimated to be living in famine-like conditions.

Image courtesy: ANI