Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the UN is evacuating families of international staff from Addis Ababa.

We are aware of reports that the UN is in process of evacuating families of international staff from Ethiopia. We have drawn down non-essential staff and families from our Embassy in Addis Ababa.

The Minister for Africa issued a statement on 24 November addressing the deteriorating situation, urging British nationals to leave while commercial flights were still available. To support those wishing to leave, the UK has made available interest-free loans to those who would otherwise be unable to afford commercial flights back to the UK, and has temporarily suspended the requirement for unvaccinated travellers to take a COVID-19 test pre-arrival in the UK.