American officials with the U.S. State Department called on the government and people of Ethiopia to end a civil war that has lasted for a year and which threatens to kill thousands more in a resulting famine in the East African country.

The war is being fought between anti-government rebels and the troops of the Ethiopian military-run government (Junta) in the northern part of the country.

A recent CNN report said the conflict is spreading into the central and southern parts of Ethiopia with the rebels closing in on the nation’s capital of Addis Ababa.

"The United States reiterates our deep concern about the risk of intercommunal violence aggravated by bellicose rhetoric on all sides of the conflict,” a statement from the U.S. State Department said.

On top of the casualties of combat, a State Department report said 900,000 people in the country face the prospect of famine because of the chaos.

The U.S. is calling on the government of Ethiopia to halt its military combat operations, including the bombing of population centers, and to provide access to outside humanitarian aid to those in need.

State Department officials added that social media in the country is inflaming the situation as the warring factions engage in posting taunts and violent rhetoric against each other.

“Inflammatory language fuels the flames of this conflict, pushing a peaceful resolution ever further away,” the State Department report noted.

The report added that U.S. officials are also concerned about reports of the arbitrary arrests of civilians based on their ethnicity.

The current war started in 2020 when the Popular Struggle for the Freedom of Tigray (TPLF), a left-wing nationalist group in Ethiopia’s northernmost province, rebelled against the ruling government of Ethiopia.

Federal troops backed by paramilitaries in the Amhara region and from Eritria captured almost all of the Tigray province held by the rebels last year including its capital in Mekelle. Since then, the rebels have staged a dramatic comeback and are reportedly within 150 miles of Addis Ababa.