This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

Ethiopia: Relief teams suspend operations in northwest Tigray

Deadly airstrikes in Ethiopia’s Tigray region have reportedly left scores of displaced people dead and halted some relief work in the affected zone.

UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, expressed outrage on Sunday after two airstrikes were reported late last week in northwest Tigray, apparently targeting camps for internally displaced persons and refugees.

It is more than a year since clashes erupted in the northern region between federal government troops and forces loyal to the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), creating a massive humanitarian disaster with millions facing acute hunger.

UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said that initial information indicated that one attack had targeted a camp in Dedebit town. Because of security and access issues, the number of casualties has not been verified.

Despite reports that humanitarians have suspended activities in the area, OCHA stressed that some partners were continuing to operate around Dedebit, amid an ongoing threat of drone strikes.

Other aid partners have stopped elsewhere in the northwest because of fuel shortages, the UN office said.

In a statement condemning the violence, UNICEF explained that attacks on refugee camps and other places such as schools that host displaced children and families may constitute a violation of international humanitarian law.

Sudan: UN envoy announces talks with key civilian and military figures

Sudan’s crisis can only be brought to an end through peaceful engagement by all parties; that’s the message from UN negotiator Volker Perthes.

“It is time to end the violence and enter into a constructive process," said UN Special Representative for Sudan, Perthes, on Saturday, as he announced talks to bring together "all key civilian and military stakeholders”.

The development comes after repeated mass protests across Sudan since last October, when a military takeover replaced a power-sharing agreement with civilian representatives, headed by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. He resigned a week ago. The UN rights office, OHCHR, has previously expressed deep concern at the excessive use of violence against protesters, who have been shot, while others have been reportedly raped or gangraped.

In a statement, Mr. Perthes explained that the “UN-facilitated intra-Sudanese political process” was being launched in consultation with Sudanese and international partners.

Its aim is to support Sudanese stakeholders “in agreeing on a way out of the current political crisis”, and also to agree on “a sustainable path forward towards democracy and peace”.

For 25th year in a row, Greenland ice sheet shrinks

To Greenland, where a new UN-endorsed report has found that for the 25th year running, its ice sheet lost more mass through summer melting, than it gained back during the winter.

The data from the Danish Arctic monitoring service, Polar Portal, shows that the early summer was cold and wet, with unusually heavy and late snowfall in June, which delayed the onset of the melting season.

After that, however, a heatwave at the end of July led to a considerable loss of ice; in all, the ice sheet lost around 166 billion tonnes during the 12-month period ending in August 2021.

According to the Polar Portal report, which contributes to the work of the UN World Meteorological Organization, 2021 was also notable because there was rain at the top of the ice sheet at 3,200 metres, rather than snow.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.