Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice continues a foreign trip with a stop in Ethiopia today. Rice’s visit comes as Ethiopia’s US-backed military intervention in Somalia draws growing scrutiny. The UN estimates 215,000 people have fled their homes in fighting over the past six weeks. On Tuesday, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes appealed for increased international aid.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes: “Well, the situation is obviously serious. Any place where you’ve got tens of thousands of people living in very, very makeshift huts in the open is obviously a very serious situation and one that’s very worrying. And one wonders how long they’re going to have to be there, because the violence in Mogadishu is still continuing.”