The UNSC is expected to hold a closed discussion on the situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region on Thursday. The US, UK, France, Ireland, Norway, and Estonia plan to raise the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia in informal discussions. No on-camera statements are expected afterward.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Tuesday pressed Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to end hostilities in the northern Tigray region, citing a “growing number of credible reports of atrocities and human rights violations and abuses. In a statement, State Department said Blinken pressed Abiy to withdraw outside forces from Tigray, including troops from Ethiopia’s Amhara region and from Eritrea, and for an immediate end to violence.

This was the second time in a week that the Biden administration has cited reports of atrocities in the region.  Ethiopia’s ministry of foreign affairs issued a statement on February 28th in which it said that the U.S. attempts to intervene in its internal affairs “regrettable”.