A BBC reporter writes about a relative forced to flee Ethiopia’s Tigray region following the outbreak of conflict between federal and regional troops.

A businessman and farm-owner, my uncle has become a refugee in Sudan, along with tens of thousands of others. He does not even have a pair of shoes, having lost them as he fled Tigray by foot and boat.

He was not expecting a conflict to break out. So, in the beginning of November, he undertook a half-day-long journey from his home near Adwa city in central Tigray to the agricultural hub of Humera in the west, leaving his wife and two children behind.

In a text message to Reuters, TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael did not directly comment on the situation on the ground, but said of the government forces: “Their brutality can only add [to] our resolve to fight these invaders to the last.”

He added: “This is about defending our right to self-determination.”

An earlier TPLF statement, reported by AFP, urged “the international community to condemn the artillery and warplane attacks and massacres being committed”.

It also accused the Eritrean government of involvement in the attack on Mekelle.

Analysts say the TPLF could now be preparing to return to the mountains to launch a guerrilla war against the federal government.

Ethiopia’s prime minister has given forces in the northern region of Tigray 72 hours to surrender as government troops advance on the capital, Mekelle.

Abiy Ahmed told Tigrayan leaders they were “at a point of no return”.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the mountainous region, has vowed to keep fighting.

The conflict has reportedly killed hundreds and displaced thousands in recent weeks. The UN has warned it could trigger a humanitarian crisis.