UN High Commissioner Visits Ethiopia's Displaced

FILE - UNHCR High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi addresses a news conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, June 21, 2017.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi traveled to Ethiopia's Tigray region this week to meet with families displaced by conflict.

Since arriving in Ethiopia on Feb. 5, Grandi also has met with the president of Ethiopia and with Eritrean refugees in Alemwach camp in Amhara.

"After the peace agreement, humanitarian agencies can deliver more aid in areas of Northern Ethiopia impacted by conflict. I met displaced people in Mekelle and Eritrean refugees in the Dabat area," Grandi said on Twitter, adding that the "UNHCR supports both."

Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia have faced targeted attacks over the past two years of war.

In December, the UNHCR collaborated with partners to relocate 7,000 Eritrean refugees from western Tigray to Alemwach.

Though access for aid to Tigray has improved since a peace deal was signed in November between the federal government and Tigray forces, resources remain limited compared to needs, according to a U.N. report.

Since the deal, the federal government has restored basic services and humanitarian aid to the region. As part of the agreement, Tigrayan fighters have handed over heavy weapons to the federal government, while Amhara special forces have left the Tigray region.

On Feb. 3, Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed met with TPLF leaders for the first time to discuss the implementation of the peace deal.