This is the first official acknowledgement by Eritrea of the presence of its troops in Tigray where they have been accused of committing human rights violations

The UN Security Council discussed the crisis in the Tigray region amid increasing reports of atrocities. UN officials Michelle Bachelet and Mark Lowcock also called for the withdrawal of Eritrean troops from the region

“Living in crowded camps, children and families urgently need food, shelter and clean water…Immunizations have ground to a halt, health and water facilities have been damaged or destroyed, and essential supplies looted,” says UNICEF

Following claims made by the Sudanese army of recapturing the contested Al-Fashaga region at the border with Ethiopia, the Ethiopian foreign ministry has warned of a “counter-offensive”

The meeting between the authorities of the two countries to demarcate the land border came a week after the attack on a Sudanese army patrol by Ethiopian forces on December 15. The failure of talks may lead to more clashes

The Red Cross warns that the hospital treating the injured is “running dangerously low on sutures, antibiotics, anticoagulants, painkillers, and even gloves.”

The military conflict between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray regional government, which began on November 4, has already claimed thousands of lives. International agencies have raised concerns over shortages of food and medicine.

Around 27,000 people are estimated to have fled from Ethiopia’s Tigray region across the western border into Sudan. The UN refugee agency in Sudan estimated that an average of 4,000 refugees have been arriving daily

Hundreds have reportedly died and the fighting has now spilled across the country’s national borders into neighboring countries.

Accusing Eritrea of participating in a “full-scale war” alongside the Ethiopian federal troops against the Tigray regional government, the latter fired rockets targeting the airport in Eritrea’s capital city on Saturday 

Soon after coming to power in 2018, prime minister Abiy Ahmed had opened up the political space by freeing political prisoners and allowing other political parties to operate freely. The war in Tigray may lead to a reversal of these gains

The fighting between the forces of the federal government and that of the Tigray regional government began on November 4. It has triggered fears of a full-blown civil war in Africa’s second most populous country