The civil war in northern Ethiopia officially ended in November. But a new report indicates that military forces have engaged in hundreds of sexual assaults on girls and women.

Both parties have agreed to protect civilians and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the region of more than 5 million people, according to a copy of the agreement seen by the AP.

The Ethiopian federal government and Tigray rebels signed a peace deal. But one major player in the conflict, Eritrea, wasn't involved in the talks.

Ethiopia's warring sides formally agreed during talks in South Africa to a permanent cessation of hostilities in a conflict whose victims could be counted in the hundreds of thousands.

Ethiopia's government is criticizing as "unethical" the statement by the World Health Organization's director-general that the crisis in the country's Tigray region is "the worst disaster on Earth."

"As prime minister and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Abiy Ahmed has a special responsibility to end the conflict and contribute to peace," the Oslo-based committee said in a statement.

A newly formed rebel alliance led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front is within striking distance of Addis Ababa. A failed state could displace millions of people and stoke more ethnic violence.

An investigation released a year after the start of violence over the breakaway region of Ethiopia has compiled evidence of summary executions, torture and rape.

For months, the conflict in Ethiopia between the Addis Ababa and a defiant regional government has costs thousands of lives and displaced at least a million people.

The U.N. humanitarian agency announced the agreement Wednesday. Since fighting began in the disputed region roughly a month ago, tens of thousands of residents have fled for Sudan.