New exile for Eritrean refugees fleeing Ethiopia

Among the thousands of people fleeing the five-week-old conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region are a few dozen men, women and children from Eritrea, one of the world's most authoritarian states.

They were already living as refugees in Tigray, which had long been a safe haven for them during years of conflict and repression in Eritrea.

But when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government launched a military operation against Tigray's ruling party, the Eritrean refugees' illusion of safety was shattered as violence escalated around their camps.

"Suddenly soldiers came to our camp and they started shooting," Kheder Adam told AFP in a Sudanese refugee camp. "The situation was very serious. There was a lot gunfire."

Kheder and his family had originally settled in one of the refugee camps in the Sheraro area of Tigray near the Eritrean border around two years ago, he said.

For years, Ethiopia and Eritrea had been officially in a state of war.

In 2018, Abiy took power, ending years of political dominance by the Tigray People's Liberation Front -- sworn enemies of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.

Abiy and Afwerki signed a historic peace agreement that same year, winning the Ethiopian leader the Nobel Peace Prize.

After the dramatic shift in alliances, Abiy's forces launched their operation in Tigray on November 4, Eritreans who had long benefitted from protection in Ethiopia appear to have become a target.

Since then, a few Eritrean refugees have managed to escape to Sudan.

The UN, meanwhile, has expressed fears for the safety for those still in Tigray, home to some 96,000 Eritrean refugees living in four refugee camps.