The federal government in Addis Ababa denies that a famine is imminent, and says it is working to provide aid. The fighting was between Ethiopian government and allied forces on the one hand, and Tigrayan forces on the other, following a massive fall-out between the federal and regional governments. In October, a joint report from USAid's famine early warning system and the UN World Food Programme sounded the alarm. Last May, USAid and the WFP suspended all food aid in the country while they overhauled the system. Last month a spokesman denied a risk of famine in Tigray, before partly backtracking and admitting to a problem of "recurrent droughts".
