The most extreme warning of of food insecurity - Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) - was issued Thursday after UN agencies and aid groups concluded that more than 350,000 living in the Tigray region of Ethiopia have been living in famine conditions in May and June 2021, following months of conflict between regional forces and the Ethiopian government. 

The Ethiopian government disputes the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.  

Ethiopian Foreign Minister spokesman Dina Mufti insisted Thursday that the government was providing food aid to help farmers in Tigray. The head of Ethiopia’s National Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Committee said Wednesday  “We don’t have any food shortage” and accused the Tigray People’s Liberation Army (TPLF) of attacking food convoys.  

Tigray has been engulfed in conflict since November when federal troops retaliated against an attack on an army base that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said came from fighters loyal to the TPLF. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced. 

In September 2020 Tigray held regional elections in a direct challenge to the federal government, which had postponed all regional and national elections due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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