Ethiopia's Tigray region is isolated and the situation unpredictable with no flights or road transportation in or out while electricity and telecommunications have been cut, the UN said on Thursday.

"Major towns, including Mekelle, Adigrat, Adwa, Axum and Shire, remain calm, but there are unconfirmed reports of clashes in the southern and northwestern zones," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. "Despite this, humanitarian partners continue to operate, in line with humanitarian principles."  

"The UN Migration Agency delivered fuel to operate water pumps, as well as firewood for cooking in a few displacement sites in the Mekelle area, benefiting several thousand people," Eri Kaneko, associate spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters. "The United Nations and its humanitarian partners continue to bring water into Shire and displacement sites in Mekelle." 

An international non-governmental organization provides medical services in Samre town in the southeastern zone.

Correspondents asked Kaneko about reports on the destruction of a critical bridge over the Tekeze River, confounding plans for distribution of aid and also on efforts to establish an air bridge to fly in relief supplies.

"Our understanding is that the airports are still closed," she replied. "So, we have not been able to get staff or supplies in or out."

Kaneko heard the bridge reports but had no information on them.

As for UN workers, the spokesperson said the world organization still has 419 staff members supporting the humanitarian response in Tigray, adding that most of them are in Mekelle and Shire.

The UN and humanitarian partners are urgently assessing access along main roads to get additional staff and supplies into Tigray for relief operations, she said. The goal is to restore electricity and telecommunications and ensure that cash and fuel are available throughout the region.