For more than a week, Ethiopian government forces have been fighting against a powerful regional government in the country’s north and hundreds are reported to have died.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel Peace laureate, ordered the government offensive after accusing the rival Tigray People’s Liberation Front of launching an attack against Ethiopia’s military last week.

Thousands of people have been displaced, as government planes bomb targets in the Tigray region. The rhetoric is hardening on both sides of the conflict, raising fears it could escalate into a full-out civil war and destabilize an already fragile region.

In a nightmare scenario, the conflict could pull in neighboring countries, including Sudan, which is working through a delicate transition of if its own, and Somalia, which is still fighting an Islamist insurgency.