It has been a year since Ethoipian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed triggered a civil war by sending in troops to the northern region of Tigray after local TPLF forces seized military bases there. The country is still mired in conflict.

Nine factions opposed to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have joined forces to seek a political transition. Ethiopia has been mired in violent conflict for over a year.

The council's 15 member countries released the statement as Tigrayan rebels threatened to capture the capital, Addis Ababa, a year into the fighting. Twitter also has disabled the trends section on Ethiopia.

A year after the conflict started in northern Ethiopia, fears are growing that TPLF forces could reach Addis Ababa. There has been an uptick in arrests of Tigrayan residents in the capital.

As the yearlong civil war in Ethiopia's Tigray region escalates, Kenya and South Sudan are on high alert.

Women interviewed by Amnesty International said they were raped and thrashed, in some cases, in front of their children. A new report says many of them were unable to get medical help after the assault.

The UN's special adviser on genocide prevention, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, says the parties fighting in Ethiopia's war have few options but to negotiate.

United Nations officials said staffers were rounded up by government authorities in raids targeting ethnic Tigrayans. Six have been arrested and released, while 16 others remain in custody.

The African Union is forging ahead with mediation talks in Ethiopia as the US warns of the potential far-reaching consequences of the conflict. But productive negotiations are still far from assured.

Police have previously denied that the arrests are ethnically motivated. Almost 200 young children have starved to death in Tigray.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday, stressing the need for all parties to commit to an immediate and indefinite ceasefire in the northern Tigray region, the State Department said.

France on Tuesday became the latest country to advise citizens to leave war-torn Ethiopia as Tigrayan rebels claimed to be advancing closer to the capital Addis Ababa.