(CNN) The UN World Food Programme said it expected to run out of food in the war-torn Ethiopian region of Tigray on Friday, and that hundreds of thousands of people in the area were on the brink of famine. The agency confirmed that no food trucks have been allowed into the region for two weeks. They told CNN in a statement that 100 trucks need to arrive every day in order to address the "vast humanitarian needs in the region," and that the shortfall has left "400,000 people on the verge of famine." The situation comes a week after forces from Ethiopia's northern Tigray region mounted attacks in the neighboring Afar region, a move which marked an expansion of an eight-month-old conflict into a previously untouched area. David Beasley, the WFP's executive director, initially warned earlier this week that 170 trucks filled with food and resources for Tigray had been stuck in Afar and barred from leaving.

Source: CNN July 30, 2021 13:41 UTC