ROME: Pope Francis on Sunday offered his prayers to the people of Ethiopia’s conflict-wracked Tigray region, which has been hit by famine.

“I am particularly close to the people of the Tigray region in Ethiopia, struck by a serious humanitarian crisis which exposes the poorest to famine,” he said during his Angelus prayer.

“Today there is famine, there is hunger. Let us pray together for an immediate end to the violence, for everyone to be guaranteed food and health assistance, and for the return as soon as possible of social harmony.”

The UN has said that over 90 percent of the more than five million people in the Tigray region need emergency food aid, and has urgently appealed for more than $200 million to scale up its response.