The UN has warned that Ethiopia is at a risk of descending into a widening civil war if the fighting in the northern region of Tigray does not stop.

The head of the UN’s political and peace-building affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, said no aid trucks had reached Tigray’s capital Mekelle since mid October, despite seven million people being in urgent need of food aid.

The UN says 400,000 of those in need are living under famine-like conditions.

Addressing the council, the African Union’s envoy to the Horn of Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo, said he had met Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the leader of the Tigray region, Debretsion Gebremichael.

He said both agreed that the conflict was political though there was no mention of direct talks between the two sides.

The Security Council wants troops and militias to withdraw from the area to enable access for much needed food and medicine.