Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the conflict in the Tigray Region, what assessment they have made of the security situation in Ethiopia.

The UK is concerned by the ongoing violence between federal and regional forces in the Tigray region and the risk it poses to civilians, and by reports of ethnically-motivated attacks both within Tigray and elsewhere in Ethiopia. We are gravely concerned at Amnesty International's report of killings of civilians on 9 November; we call for transparency and accountability to be delivered for such incidents. We are also concerned about the risk these events pose to Ethiopia's overall political stability and its democratic transition of which the UK has been supportive. The Foreign Secretary called Prime Minister Abiy on 10 November to raise our concerns and stress the urgent need to prioritise the protection of civilian lives, restore services (including banks and telecommunications) and enable humanitarian access. He also urged de-escalation swift moves to political dialogue. The Minister for Africa reiterated our concerns when he spoke to the Ethiopian Ambassador in London on 18 November. We will continue to track the situation and to raise with the Government of Ethiopia and regional leaders these concerns, our concerns about civilian deaths and casualties, and the importance of respect for human rights.