Concerns are mounting for the welfare of tens of thousands of people who have fled fighting in the northern Ethiopian province of Tigray into neighbouring Sudan.

Forces loyal to the powerful local Tigray People’s Liberation Front have been overwhelmed after Ethiopian troops launched a lightning offensive.

Thousands of people are thought to have been killed or injured, but the area has been cut off for weeks and the UN has only just secured an agreement allowing it unhindered access to deliver much needed aid.