UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council will meet Thursday to discuss the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia's Tigray region, diplomats told AFP Tuesday.

The meeting, requested by Ireland, will be held behind closed doors at midday and is not guaranteed to lead to the adoption of a joint statement, the diplomats said.

The Council's last meeting on Tigray was held February 2 to call for more humanitarian access.

African council members, however, had rejected in advance the idea of a joint text.