The head of the World Food Programme has said he has reached a deal with Ethiopia to expand access for aid workers and “scale up” operations in the country’s conflict-hit northern Tigray region.

David Beasley’s announcement on Twitter late Saturday comes as fears grow of a humanitarian catastrophe in Tigray, three months after fighting erupted between forces loyal to the regional ruling party and the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner.