Hundreds Flee Into Sudan as Fighting Erupts on Ethiopia Border

KHARTOUM-Hundreds of people from Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region crossed into neighboring Sudan over the past two days after fighting erupted near the border, Sudanese security and medical sources said on Sunday, underscoring fears of renewed conflict less than four years after a devastating civil war.

The influx began after clashes involving heavy artillery and drones broke out in the western Tigray area of Shererina, close to the Sudanese frontier, according to a member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The source said fighting between Ethiopian federal forces and Tigrayan fighters started early on Saturday and continued until around 5:00 a.m. local time on Sunday.

A Sudanese security source in the border town of Hamdayet said those arriving from Tigray included wounded fighters. A medical source at a border health center said the injured were given first aid before being transferred to Al-Hashaba, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) inside Sudan, where thousands of people displaced during the 2020-2022 Tigray war are living.

Residents on the Sudanese side of the frontier reported hearing sustained explosions and heavy gunfire throughout the fighting.

A witness in Wad Al-Hulaywah, roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the border, said three powerful explosions were heard on Saturday morning. The witness said heavy gunfire was still audible later in the afternoon and added that residents of the nearby village of Al-Qudaymah had fled across the Setit River to escape the violence.

Another witness in Hamdayet said explosions could be heard throughout Saturday and reported seeing aircraft flying southwest of the town during the clashes.

Reuters could not independently verify the witness accounts, the reported military activity or the identities of the forces engaged in the fighting.

On Saturday, the TPLF accused Ethiopia’s federal government of launching what it described as a large-scale infantry offensive in the area. Ethiopian authorities did not immediately respond to the allegation, and the claims could not be independently verified.

The latest fighting follows months of military buildup along northern Tigray’s border, where Ethiopian federal troops and Tigrayan forces have remained deployed. The African Union has warned that tensions have raised concerns over the possibility of renewed conflict after the 2020-2022 war, which it says killed at least 600,000 people.

The movement of refugees into Sudan comes as the neighboring country remains consumed by its own conflict. Sudan has been at war since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), triggering one of the world’s largest displacement and humanitarian crises.

The renewed violence also unfolds against a backdrop of deteriorating relations between Ethiopia and Sudan.

In May, Ethiopia accused the Sudanese army of supporting TPLF-linked mercenaries. Sudan, in turn, accused Ethiopia of allowing drone attacks to be launched from its territory in coordination with the United Arab Emirates.

The United Arab Emirates has repeatedly denied allegations that it is the principal backer of the RSF.

The reports of fresh fighting near the Ethiopia-Sudan border are likely to deepen concerns over regional stability, as both countries continue to grapple with armed conflict and heightened diplomatic tensions.