The U.N. and Ethiopia agree on humanitarian access, IDB's president pledges cooperation with Joe Biden's White House, and the U.N. presents its "bleakest and darkest" humanitarian overview. This week in development: The United Nations signed a deal with the government of Ethiopia on Wednesday to allow humanitarian access into the country's Tigray region, which has been caught in a deadly power struggle between federal and regional forces. On Saturday, the government announced that it had taken "full control" of the region's capital city, Mekele, and declared victory in a military offensive that has lasted more than four weeks, displaced nearly 1 million people, and resulted in unknown numbers of deaths, including among civilians. An estimated 45,000 people have fled Ethiopia for neighboring Sudan, while Eritrean refugees living in camps near Ethiopia's northern border have suffered reported attacks from Eritrean forces siding with the federal government. The conflict has left humanitarian organizations waiting on the sidelines for an opening to deliver aid amid reports of rising food insecurity and deteriorating health services, particularly among refugees. The new deal will allow "unimpeded" access to areas under federal control within the region, but experts cautioned that while the active military phase might be over, the fighting is not. They warned the danger now is that the conflict could turn into a long-term insurgency. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that four Ethiopian aid workers were killed during the fighting last month at one of the Eritrean refugee camps. Their identities have not been disclosed, and the exact circumstances of their deaths are still unknown, due in large part to a communications blackout across the region.