US President Joe Biden is sending his special envoy for the Horn of Africa to Ethiopia to push for an end to increased fighting that has worsened fears of an unfolding humanitarian disaster.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced the trip by envoy Jeffrey Feltman on Thursday, while urging Ethiopia’s government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to come to the negotiating table after nine months of conflict.

“Months of war have brought immense suffering and division to a great nation that won’t be healed through more fighting,” Sullivan tweeted.

“We call on all parties to urgently come to the negotiating table,” he said.

The President has asked Special Envoy Feltman to return to Ethiopia at this critical moment. Months of war have brought immense suffering and division to a great nation, that won’t be healed through more fighting. We call on all parties to urgently come to the negotiating table.

— Jake Sullivan (@JakeSullivan46) August 12, 2021

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s federal troops and forces from the TPLF, which controls Tigray, have been battling since November in a war that has killed thousands of people and sparked a major refugee crisis. The conflict has been marked by ethnic killings and rape as a weapon of war.

In July, the United Nations warned more than 100,000 children in Tigray could suffer life-threatening malnutrition in the next 12 months. A total of 400,000 people risk famine in the region, according to the UN, with aid workers saying they have struggled to gain access.