Amidst a humanitarian crisis in Tigray Regional State, the federal government has deployed a fact-finding mission that will be looking for corridors of safe transit for humanitarian aid to the people affected by the ongoing conflict between the federal and regional governments.

The team, which is drawn from the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Peace, the Agency for Refugee & Returnee Affairs and the National Disaster Risk Management Commission, departed to the Regional State on November 17, 2020. The team travelled using two routes: through Gonder Zone and Afar Regional State, two areas that share administrative borders with Tigray Regional State.

"The fact-finding missions have already started sending reports," Redwan Hussein, the spokesperson of the state of emergency task force, told Fortune. "We expect them to return in a few days with findings."

After receiving the reports, the government will work on providing support to the people in the area in collaboration with humanitarian aid agencies and overseeing humanitarian relief operations. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the United Nations Resident Coordinator are the agencies working with the government.

A crisis is looming in the area and the UNHCR described the situation as a ''full-scale humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ethiopia.'' The conflict erupted at the beginning of this month after Prime Ministry Abiy Ahmed (PhD) ordered a military offensive against forces in the Regional State, accusing them of attacking the Northern Command of the National Defense Forces.

Since then, basic services such as water, electricity and telephone lines have been cut, banks are closed, and over 31,000 Ethiopians from Tigray Regional State have fled to Sudan. Reports indicate that nearly two million people need life-saving support, including food, water, shelter, health and protection services.

Humanitarian agencies in the Regional State are also reporting a shortage of food, fuel and cash exposing about 96,000 refugees to a lack of access to water due to a looming shortage of fuel to run water pumps. UNHCR runs four refugee camps in the Regional State.

About 800 people were internally displaced from Medebey Zana District, Tigray to Addi Adekay District in Gonder. New internally displaced people were also reported in Midre Genet District, Gonder and in Dalul District, Kilbati Zone of Afar Regional State.

"We'll come up with a plan before it becomes a crisis," said Redwan.

The federal government plans to provide the support through two routes. In the unfettered areas, the government itself will provide support. In the areas that are not controlled by federal forces, there has to be a safe corridor whereby UN agencies and other partners can supply humanitarian items like food and drugs for the people in the area, according to the spokesperson.

"This committee will also work ... to return and reintegrate back into their locales all citizens that have fled over the past days," posted Prime Minister Abiy on his Facebook page.

However, humanitarian agencies find the situation unraveling, since it is hard to get access to the area because of movement restrictions, safety issues and a communications cut-off.

Communications were only coming from the UN hubs in Meqelle and Shire, according to Malda Nadew, the strategic communications analyst at the UN-OCHA.

Yet the agencies and local NGOs are still trying to assist with the stock they have at hand, although no supply is going to the area for restocking. This has pushed them to renew calls for access to humanitarian aid.