UN discloses funding gaps to meet humanitarian needs in northern Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Tuesday disclosed that it is facing a funding shortfall to meet humanitarian needs in the northern Tigray regional state of Ethiopia.

UNOCHA appealed to humanitarian partners to cover the rest 562.3 million U.S. dollars required to meet the humanitarian needs of around 2.3 million people in the region.

According to UNOCHA, 62,032 Ethiopian refugees living in Sudan are also included in the latest humanitarian aid appeal.

Ethiopia's federal government has been undertaking military operations in the region since last November against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which used to rule the place.

Months of fighting have reportedly left thousands of people dead, hundreds of thousands of others displaced, and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.