They have survived gun battles, attempted abductions, attacks by angry militiamen and days-long treks to safety with nothing to eat but moringa leaves.

Ethiopia has denied a Sudanese allegation that an Ethiopian military aircraft crossed the border into Sudan.

More than 80 civilians were killed in an attack on Tuesday in the Benishangul-Gumuz region on Ethiopia's border with Sudan, the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said on Wednesday.

The leader of Ethiopia's rebellious Tigrayan forces said on Friday that protests were breaking out in the regional capital which fell to federal troops days ago in their month-long war.

The leader of rebel forces in northern Ethiopia said on Monday they were still fighting near the regional capital of Mekelle, which fell to government troops at the weekend after nearly a month of battles and air strikes.

The Ethiopian government launched a manhunt on Sunday for leaders of a rebellious faction in the northern region of Tigray after announcing federal troops had taken over the regional capital and military operations were complete.

Ethiopian government forces began an offensive to capture the regional capital Mekelle in the rebellious northern Tigray region on Saturday, said a diplomat in direct contact with residents, and the leader of Tigrayan forces.

African peace envoys were due to meet Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday, a day after he said the military was beginning the "final phase" of an offensive in the northern Tigray region that rights groups fear could bring huge civilian casualties.

The Ethiopian military will begin the ‘final phase’ of an offensive in the rebellious northern Tigray region, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Thursday, hours after an ultimatum for Tigray forces to surrender expired.

Fighting between Ethiopia's military and regional forces from the northern Tigray region is seriously destabilising the East African region and hostilities should halt, the European Union foreign policy chief said.

The leader of Ethiopia's dissident Tigray region has said that his people are "ready to die" defending their homeland, rejecting Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's ultimatum that they surrender within 72 hours.

Forces of Ethiopia's Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) have destroyed an airport in the ancient town of Axum, state-affiliated media said on Monday, as advancing federal troops gave them a 72-hour ultimatum to surrender.