U.N. officials have complained for months about their inability to send truck convoys of food and fuel into the conflict zone because of Ethiopian government security checkpoints and bureaucratic obstacles. Ms. Connell said that only 15 percent of the aid needed has reached its destination since July.
Fighting has intensified over the past two weeks since the Ethiopian government launched a major offensive intended to break the deadlock in the war. The Ethiopian military and local forces attacked Tigrayan rebels in the Amhara region, just south of Tigray.
The Tigrayans began a counteroffensive and the fighting has spread into the neighboring Afar region, according to officials on both sides. The Tigrayans claim to have killed 34,000 government troops and captured 1,400 more, but access to these areas has been restricted, making it difficult for outside news media to ascertain what is happening.
The United Nations says that the number of people in need of humanitarian help has risen to seven million, including five million in Tigray, and that 400,000 are suffering famine-like conditions.
The conflict has blighted the international reputation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, who won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for having ended the protracted conflict with neighboring Eritrea.