Hundreds have already died. The dangers are multiplying for the country and the region

On Tuesday, two weeks after launching military action, the Ethiopian prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, announced a “final and conclusive” push against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Few expect it to be so easy. The TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for years but has been sidelined since Mr Abiy rose to power, has a long history of guerrilla warfare and heavily armed forces.

While each side blames the other for the conflict, civilians are bearing the brunt. Tens of thousands of people have fled from Tigray to Sudan. Hundreds are reported dead, though the severing of communications with the north-west region means that news from there is sporadic and unreliable. Refugees have described both sides committing atrocities against civilians. Aid workers leaving the region report a chaotic and rapidly shifting situation; their departure from an area where many already went hungry will deepen suffering.

Abiy Ahmed says deadline for surrender has expired, paving way for push on Tigray’s capital before end of week

• Could Tigray conflict turn Ethiopia into a ‘Libya of east Africa’?

Ethiopian troops will launch a “final and conclusive” offensive against rebel forces in the northern region of Tigray before the end of the week, the country’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, has warned.

In a series of social media posts on Tuesday, Abiy said that a three-day deadline for rebel troops to surrender had expired, paving the way for a final push on Mekelle, Tigray’s capital.

Fears grow that conflict will draw in regional powers and destabilise Horn of Africa

Ethiopian troops have advanced further into the northern region of Tigray, seizing a key town on the road to its capital, officials in Addis Ababa have said.

The conflict between national forces and troops loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is heading towards the end of its second week.

Fears fighting in country’s north could reopen long-running feuds and spread across national borders

Leaders of Tigray in Ethiopia’s north on Saturday claimed responsibility for rocket attacks on two airports in a nearby region and threatened to strike neighbouring Eritrea, raising concerns that the escalating conflict could spread across national borders.

The attacks – and threats of more – fuelled concern that a conflict Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed vowed would be quick and contained could instead snowball and destabilise the broader Horn of Africa region.

Country’s prime minister sent in federal troops and aircraft last week in major escalation

Heavy casualties have been reported in ongoing clashes between the Ethiopian army and troops loyal to the ruling party of the restive northern province of Tigray.

At least six people were killed and 60 people wounded in one location along the Tigray border alone, Doctors Without Borders said on Saturday, and a medical official said nearly 100 government soldiers had been treated for gunshot wounds at a hospital in the northern Amhara region.

Dispute between former coalition partners has led to clashes and airstrikes in the northern area

Ethiopia has further intensified the pressure on the country’s restive northern Tigray region by moving to replace the local leadership with a new centrally imposed administration.

The move comes amid clashes between Tigrayan and national military forces that have brought Africa’s second most populous nation to the brink of what analysts say could be a long drawn-out and bloody civil war.