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

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 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.

African leaders attempted Monday to kickstart some kind of mediation in Ethiopia's escalating internal conflict, two days after rocket strikes on Eritrea's capital highlighted risks that fighting could spread.

The United Nations warned Friday of possible war crimes in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray, after 10 days of fighting that the country's prime minister claimed had his enemy "in the final throes of death".

Ethiopia's human rights commission condemned the arrest of journalists as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed pressed ahead with a military offensive in a northern region against local leaders defiant of his authority.

Ethiopian troops took an airport in the Tigray region during an offensive against local leaders defying Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's authority, state-affiliated TV said on Tuesday, as the African Union (AU) called for an end to bloodshed.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Sunday asked South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in a long-running dispute with Egypt over a massive dam being built on the Blue Nile River.

Ethiopia's Sidama people have voted overwhelmingly to form their own self-governing region as many of the country's ethnic groups

A high-profile Ethiopian activist at the centre of violence that left 25 people dead this week has accused Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed

Hundreds of supporters of an Ethiopian ethnic activist and media entrepreneur gathered outside his house on Wednesday, a day after it was surrounded by security forces

Hailed as a visionary and reformer, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to resolve the long-running conflict with neighbouring foe Eritrea.