Addis Ababa, March 14 (IANS) The Ethiopian government has rejected US allegations of ethnic cleansing in the conflic-ridden Tigray regional state as "completely unfounded".

"(The accusation) is a completely unfounded and spurious verdict against the Ethiopian government," the Foreign Ministry here said in a statement on Saturday, referring to allegations made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier in the day in a congressional hearing.

"Overblowing things out of proportion while the Ethiopian government has made its position unequivocally clear on the need for thorough investigation in collaboration with regional and international partners does not serve the purpose of justice other than unnecessarily politicizing the issue," the statement said.

More than four months of fighting between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) which used to rule the region until November 2020, and the Ethiopian Defense Forces has left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands.

According to Ethiopian government figures, the conflict has displaced around 2.2 million people, while 4.5 million people are in need of emergency aid.

The Ethiopian government has recently allowed humanitarian access to Tigray, stressing that all entities operating in the state should abide by the laws of the land.

--IANS ksk/