UN helping displaced in Tigray go home

The UN says it has helped 50,000 people return to their home areas in northern Ethiopia’s war-hit region of Tigray, three months after a peace deal was signed.

Around two million people were forced to flee their homes during the two-year conflict.

The war created a humanitarian emergency and one academic study last year estimated total civilian deathscaused by the fighting, starvation and lack of health care - stood at between 385,000 and 600,000.

The head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, made the announcement at the end of a three-day visit to Ethiopia.

He said everyone he had met in Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, wanted to go back home, but this would be easier to achieve in some areas than others.

“Peace will be successful if people go back home,” he said.

Humanitarian access to conflictaffected regions had increased since the deal, but relief efforts still needed to be accelerated as the needs remained “very big in northern Ethiopia”, Mr Grandi said.