The head of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society said Wednesday that 80 percent of the country's conflict-hit Tigray region was cut off from humanitarian assistance and warned that tens of thousands could starve to death.

"Eighty percent of the Tigray is unreachable at this particular time," Abera Tola told a press conference, adding that without improvements the number of starvation deaths within two months "will be tens of thousands".

rcb/np/ri