The United Nations is identifying staff and supplies to deliver aid in Ethiopia to victims of conflict in the Tigray region, including 96,000 Eritrean refugees without clean water, a UN spokesman said late on Thursday. "The United Nations continues to be gravely concerned about the safety of civilians who may be caught up in the conflict and how blocked roads are hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to those who need it," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Staff and existing supplies will be deployed once blockades on roads are lifted and access granted. "We urgently call on all parties to the conflict to allow for immediate, free, safe and unhindered humanitarian access," Dujarric told reporters in a regular briefing. "Electricity continues to be cut off. Fuel for generators has run out. That leaves 96,000 Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia without clean water." A Humanitarian Preparedness Plan announced Wednesday for nearly 2 million people affected by the conflict in Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions of Ethiopia until January 2021 seeks 75 million US dollars. Since Nov. 4, the Ethiopian government has been undertaking military operations against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, local force in the Tigray regional state.
