More than 6,000 people have entered Ethiopia, fleeing fighting in neighbouring Sudan, according to local officials.

In a statement, the West Gondar zone communication office in Ethiopia’s northern region of Amhara said the fleeing people are from 42 different countries, including 941 Ethiopian nationals who were previously living in Sudan.

The statement said the number of fleeing people in the zone is only up to last Friday, with plans already underway to designate a specific refugee accommodation site if the crisis continues to expand.

The statement added that the local officials were working with the International Organisation for Migration and the Ethiopian Red Cross Society to help with the refugees’ health, transportation, nutritional, and water needs.

Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres, said at least 73,000 people had fled ongoing fighting in Sudan to neighbouring countries.

Brutal fighting erupted in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on April 15 and swiftly escalated in different parts of the country.

The ongoing fighting is pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

Both sides have accused each other of initiating the conflict.

The death toll from the clashes between the SAF and the RSF has risen to more than 500, with thousands more injured, according to Sudan’s Ministry of Health.

(Xinhua/NAN)