Rebellious Tigrayan forces said on Saturday they had seized the strategic town of Dessie in Ethiopia's Amhara region where tens of thousands of ethnic Amharas have sought refuge from an escalation in fighting, but the government denied this.

The Ethiopian police officers raided the cathedral in Addis Ababa before sunrise, interrupting prayers and forcing a dozen ethnic Tigrayan priests and monks into a pickup truck.

Ethiopia's military launched an air strike on a rebel-held facility in Tigray's west on Sunday, a government official said, the seventh aerial bombardment in the war-hit region in a week.

Qatar Charity (QC) honoured 197 academically well-performing male and female orphans whom it sponsors in Ethiopia, aiming to encourage them to continue their outstanding academic achievements and bring cheer to them and their families.

Ethiopia said on Thursday it would expel seven senior UN officials for "meddling" in its affairs, ratcheting up worries over the humanitarian response in the war-torn and famine-threatened Tigray region.

The hilltop bamboo palace in southwestern Ethiopia was once a formidable power base, where the now-defunct Kingdom of Kaffa hosted extravagant festivals and stored rich reserves of gold and buffalo hides.

US aid chief Samantha Power has called on rebel forces to "immediately" withdraw from two regions bordering Ethiopia's war-hit Tigray, as the conflict threatens to envelop the rest of the country.

Ethiopia has attained its second-year target for filling a mega-dam on the Blue Nile River that has stoked tensions with downstream countries Egypt and Sudan, an official told AFP on Monday.

Fighting erupted Tuesday between rival forces in a refugee camp in Ethiopia's war-hit Tigray, after local rebels launched a new offensive to reclaim towns and territory in the region.

Ethiopia has started the second phase of filling a controversial mega-dam's reservoir on the upper Blue Nile, Egypt said, raising tensions ahead of an upcoming UN Security Council meeting on the issue.

Ethiopia on Friday denied blocking humanitarian aid to its northern Tigray region where hundreds of thousands face starvation, and said it was rebuilding infrastructure amid accusations it is using hunger as a weapon.

Ethiopians began voting Monday in a closely-watched election taking place as famine grips the war-torn Tigray region and doubts linger about the credibility of the twice-delayed vote.