(Photo: ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP)After intense fighting cut off his ability to communicate with people outside his region, Bishop Tefaselassie Medhin of Adigrat, Ethiopia, called for urgent humanitarian assistance in the country's semi-autonomous Tigray region. Bishop Medhin had remained cut off from the rest of the church together with his priests and the religious -- something that triggered concerns -- amid the fighting in the region. "The need for urgent humanitarian emergency response is vital to save millions of people in dire conditions," Bishop Medhin said in a statement dated Jan. 5, but made public Jan. 14. Since the government's announcement of an end to the conflict, humanitarian response to people has been limited, with agencies reporting persistent insecurity and clashes between the army and the liberation front. Catholic Church agencies -- including Caritas and Catholic Relief Services -- are moving humanitarian aid in the region.

Source: Ethiopian News January 15, 2021 05:26 UTC