Ethiopian refugees gather to celebrate the 46th anniversary of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, eastern Sudan, on Feb. 18. (Photo: Hussein Ery/AFP)

Catholic relief agencies in Ethiopia welcomed a move by the government to allow more access in Tigray, the semi-autonomous region in the north, where a military operation displaced millions and left an unspecified number of people dead.

Amid increased international calls for unrestricted access, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali announced Feb. 24 that 135 personnel from bilateral and multilateral organizations had been cleared to travel and undertake aid work in the region.