Hundreds Flee Ethiopia’s Tigray Region Into Sudan as Border Fighting Rekindles Fears of Renewed War
Hundreds of civilians from Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region have crossed into neighbouring Sudan after heavy fighting erupted between Ethiopian federal forces and regional Tigrayan fighters near the border, raising fears of a return to large-scale conflict less than four years after the devastating Tigray war.
Sudanese security and medical officials said the influx began over the weekend following clashes in Shererina, in western Tigray near the Sudanese border. Witnesses and local sources reported exchanges of heavy artillery fire and drone strikes that started early on Saturday and continued into Sunday.
A member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) accused Ethiopia’s federal government of launching a “large-scale infantry offensive” in the area. Ethiopian authorities had not immediately responded to the allegation, and the claims could not be independently verified.
Sudanese officials in the border town of Hamdayet said some of those crossing into Sudan were wounded fighters, while injured civilians received emergency treatment before being transferred to nearby medical facilities. Residents on the Sudanese side of the border reported hearing sustained explosions and heavy gunfire throughout the weekend, prompting some border communities to flee across the Setit River.
The renewed violence comes amid months of rising tensions between Ethiopia’s federal government and Tigrayan forces despite the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement, which formally ended a two-year civil war that the African Union estimates claimed at least 600,000 lives through fighting, hunger and disease.
The latest clashes also threaten to complicate relations between Ethiopia and Sudan, which have been strained by border disputes and mutual accusations of supporting rival armed groups. In recent months, Ethiopia accused the Sudanese military of backing TPLF-linked fighters, while Sudan alleged that Ethiopia had allowed drone attacks to be launched from its territory in coordination with foreign actors.
Sudan is itself grappling with a civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), making the arrival of new refugees an added humanitarian challenge. Aid agencies have warned that any escalation in Tigray could trigger another large-scale displacement crisis in a region already burdened by conflict and food insecurity.
