From our special correspondent at the Ethiopian border, Eliott Brachet

The ultimatum issued by federal troops to the forces of the Tigray People's Liberation Front gathered in the region's capital Mekelle expires this Wednesday. According to the Ethiopian government, the army has surrounded the city and is preparing to launch a siege of the TPLF stronghold. The spokesman for the Ethiopian army called on civilians to save themselves: "After, there will be no mercy," he added. For its part, the TPLF has assured that its forces are holding firm and have inflicted several defeats on federal troops.

On the banks of the Tekeze River, which marks the border between Ethiopia and Sudan, a boat runs aground on the shore with a crash. From the vessel, about fifty refugees unload bags of flour, chickens, a bicycle—everything they managed to take in the panic.

"They took our possessions, they burned our homes. We are hungry"

"We are from a village near Dansha. We walked for almost three weeks. We had to pay smugglers to find us a safe route and escape soldiers and militias. They took our possessions, they burned our homes. We are hungry. The soldiers said to turn back but everyone who did was massacred," testifies Kiros Tades, who came from far away with his family.

On the shore, a young man does not take his eyes off Ethiopia. "My wife was giving birth at the hospital in Humera. Then the city was bombed, we fled to hide in the fields. They want to kill young Tigrayans so I had to leave my wife behind with our two twins. Now I'm waiting for them to arrive," says Burhane, who has been waiting here for two days.

In single file, these new exiles climb the slope that takes them to the Hamdayet border post. On Tuesday, 1,200 people crossed the river, adding to the tens of thousands of others crowded into Sudanese camps.