UN Security Council to hold meeting on Tigray crisis

The UN Security Council is due to hold its first meeting later on Tuesday to discuss the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray State.

The virtual meeting comes as the Ethiopian government says its tanks are preparing to attack the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle.

It has given the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces, who control the city, until Wednesday to surrender.

TPLF forces are claiming they have ‘destroyed’ one of the Ethiopian army’s mechanised divisions.

Nearly three weeks of fighting has left hundreds of people dead.

A communications blackout in the region means that claims by either side cannot easily be verified.

International agencies have warned that the conflict is on the brink of a deadly escalation.