The shooting came as the UN and aid agencies are continuing to seek access to northern Ethiopia, more than a week after fighting there was declared over on November 28.

“Some of the UN staff were actually detained and some were shot at,” said the spokesman, Redwan Hussein.

“They broke two checkpoints to drive to areas where they were not supposed to go, and that they were told not to go. When they were about to break the third one, they were shot at and detained,” Hussein added.

The humanitarian situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region is “increasingly critical”, the UN refugee agency had said last week.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had ordered troops into Tigray on November 4 following alleged attacks by Tigray People’s Liberation Front forces on federal military camps in the northern region.

Abiy, the winner of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, declared victory in Tigray on November 28, but later said efforts were ongoing to restore order, amid continued fighting and lawlessness that is hampering relief efforts.

Thousands have been killed in fighting that began November 4 between government forces and those loyal to the leadership of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

Close to 50,000 people have fled to Sudan while around 600,000 living in Tigray depended on food handouts even before the fighting began.