Ethiopia‘s government has declared an immediate truce with  Tigrayan rebels to allow aid into the war-ravaged northern province.

A spokesman for the Tigrayan forces did not respond to a request for comment on the announcement, which follows a visit by the US Special Envoy David Satterfield to the capital Addis Ababa yesterday.

More than 5.5 million Tigrayans need food aid but only a tiny trickle has entered since Ethiopian troops withdrew from Tigray at the end of June last year.

The civil war has left more than five million people needing food aid, yet none has been delivered to Tigray since mid-December and Tigrayan leaders have blamed government for blocking aid into Tigray