3.8 million people in Ethiopia's restive region receive humanitarian aid

The Ethiopian government said on Wednesday that humanitarian aid has been provided to some 3.8 million people in the country's restive northern Tigray regional state.

Some 780,534.6 kg of food were distributed by the government to 3.8 million beneficiaries, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

The government has spent 1.87 billion Ethiopian birr (about 47 million U.S. dollars) in providing food and non-food items, and other basic services to the state. The government allowed humanitarian access to Tigray last week, stressing that all entities operating in the state should abide by the laws of the land.

Months of fighting between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which used to rule the Tigray regional state, and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces have reportedly left thousands of people dead, hundreds of thousands of others displaced, and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

According to Ethiopian government figures, the conflict has displaced around 2.2 million people, while 4.5 million people are in need of emergency aid.