Hundreds of Ethiopians from the northern Tigray region have crossed into neighbouring Sudan over the past two days, fleeing fighting near the border, Sudanese security and medical sources told AFP.
The influx comes as Sudan itself remains engulfed in a brutal civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which erupted in April 2023.
A member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) said clashes involving heavy artillery and drones between the Ethiopian army and Tigray rebels erupted in the western Tigray area of Shererina, near the Sudanese border, early on Saturday and continued until around 5:00 am (0200 GMT) on Sunday.
A Sudanese security source in the border town of Hamdayet said arrivals from Tigray included wounded rebels.
A medical source at a border health centre said the injured received first aid before being transferred to al-Hashaba, 15 kilometres (nine miles) inside Sudan, home to thousands displaced by the 2020-2022 Tigray war.
Residents on the Sudanese side of the border reported hearing explosions and sustained gunfire throughout the fighting.
