U.N. Flight destined for Tigray forced to return to Addis Ababa as Fighting continues

A United Nations humanitarian flight was ordered to abort a landing in the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region on Friday, epicenter of the conflict, as government airstrikes hit the area.

The flight by the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service, bound for the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, returned to the national capital, Addis Ababa, and all such flights were suspended, said Steve Taravella, a spokesman for the World Food Program, the U.N. anti-hunger agency that manages the air service.

It was the first time a U.N. humanitarian flight had been forced to abandon a mission into the Tigrayan region because of airstrikes, said Gemma Connell, the top U.N. aid official for southern and eastern Africa.

“We’re obviously concerned about what has taken place today,” Ms. Connell said in a conference call with reporters. She said 11 humanitarian workers were aboard but did not elaborate on their work or the cargo they had carried.

Fighting has intensified over the past two weeks since the Ethiopian government  launched a major offensive intended to break the deadlock in the war.