Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support her Department has provided to British Citizens attempting to leave the Tigray region.

Since the beginning of the conflict on 4 November 2020, we have advised British Nationals to leave Tigray. There have been opportunities to leave during that time including four convoys organised by the UN during the initial stages of the conflict which we supported. In the period from January to June 2021, Ethiopian Airlines flights were operating between Mekele and Addis Ababa. We are aware of several British Nationals who chose not leave at that time. Those flights and routes out were curtailed when the conflict escalated in the summer of 2021. We have not been able to secure a safe route out of Tigray since that time. We are currently working with partners to explore possible routes out. We will also continue to be at the forefront of the international effort to de-escalate the conflict and alleviate suffering, and welcome the humanitarian ceasefire announced by both sides on 24 March.