"World Food Programme says it will ‘scale up’ operations in embattled region after reaching deal with Addis Ababa." The United Nations’ food agency says it has reached a deal with Ethiopia to expand access for aid workers and “scale up” operations in the country’s conflict-hit Tigray region. David Beasley, the head of the World Food Programme (WFP), made the announcement late on Saturday amid growing fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in Tigray, a region of more than five million people.

Top UN officials and international NGOs have repeatedly complained about access restrictions to Tigray. The government and the WFP “have agreed on concrete steps to expand access for humanitarians across Tigray, and WFP will scale up its operations”, Beasley said on Twitter following a visit to the Mekelle. “Nearly 3 million people need our help NOW and we have no time to waste,” he added.