1,300 displaced died of hunger in volatile Ethiopian region

More than 1,300 people have died from hunger in displacement camps in Ethiopia's volatile Tigray region over the past three years, a local official told AFP on Monday.

A civil war between the federal government and forces from the northern Tigray region in 2020-2022 killed at least 600,000 people according to African Union estimates.

Around one million people remain displaced in camps.

"For the past three years, 1,309 people died due to hunger and lack of medicine in (internally displaced people) camps around Tigray," Gebreselassie Tareke, a director at Tigray's Social Affairs Office, told AFP.

"The situation is getting worse, we are not receiving enough aid from the federal government and international NGOs are reducing their help," Gebreselassie said.

Addis Ababa cut off funding to Tigray several months ago as political tensions have mounted.

"A lot of people are at risk," said Gebreselassie, noting that one of the most affected camps houses a staggering 150,000 people.

Ethiopian troops and Tigrayan forces clashed again last November and January.

Federal authorities have accused the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) -- long the dominant party in the region -- of building ties with Eritrea at a time when some fear war is imminent between the neighbouring countries.

Eritrea accuses landlocked Ethiopia of planning to seize its port city of Assab. Troops have massed along the borders for weeks.

Last month, Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on the parties to take urgent de-escalation measures "before it is too late".