ETHIOPIA admitted to opening fire on United Nations humanitarian workers over the weekend as a government spokesman dismissed claims it had signed an agreement allowing UN access to provide aid.

The shooting was confirmed during a press conference in the capital, Addis Ababa, on Tuesday evening by Redwan Hussein, who insisted that UN personnel had ignored instructions and continued to drive through government checkpoints in the northern Tigray region.

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