People flee from Tigray, seek shelter in Sudan

More than 25,300 refugees have fled the Tigray region of Ethiopia for Sudan, according to a report the U.N. refugee agency released on Monday.

Around 5,000 refugees arrived in Sudan's border provinces on Sunday, as the conflict in Ethiopia spilled outside the region.

The arrivals marks the highest single-day number of refugees since the start of the conflict, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Most are children and women who walked long distances on rugged terrain to reach safety in Sudan.

"These people are coming with knives and sticks, wanting to attack citizens. And behind them is the Ethiopian army with tanks. The knives and the sticks aren't the problem, it's the tanks," said Thimon Abrah, a refugee from Tigray.

Fighting erupted after Ethiopia's Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military offensive against Tigray's regional government after an alleged attack by the region's forces.

Each government regards the other as illegal.

Abiy's government on Monday again refused international pleas for dialogue and asked for more time, while the leaders of Uganda and Kenya urged the warring sides to find a peaceful end to the political and humanitarian crisis.