Nearly 29,000 people have been displaced by fighting over disputed territory along the boundaries of Ethiopia's Amhara and Tigray regions, according to the UN.
Battles broke out between the two regions' armies last week in the jointly-claimed Raya Alamata district.
Amharan officials have charged Tigrayan forces with initiating an invasion; however, Tigrayan rebels themselves refute this accusation.
Ethiopia's two-year civil war came to an end in late 2022 when the central government struck a peace agreement with Tigrayan forces.
However, issues of
contested areas, disarmament of ex-combatants, and the fate of hundreds of
thousands of Tigrayans forced out of their homes during the war remain
unresolved.
The contested district of
Raya Alamata had been under Tigray until war broke out in 2020, but the Amhara
forces have since seized it.
Following the resurgence
of the latest fighting, Tigray forces have reportedly advanced towards some
areas in the district.
Life-saving assistance is
urgently required, the UN said, adding that some families were sheltering in
open areas in nearby Amhara districts of Kobo and Sekota.
Meanwhile the embassies
of seven Western countries - including the US and the UK - have released a
joint statement expressing their concern at the reported violence.
They are calling for
de-escalation and have encouraged disarmament and demobilisation.
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