 For more videos and people's struggles, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. The conflict in Ethiopia's northern region Tigre is intensifying. Hundreds have reportedly died and the fighting has now spilled across the country's national borders into neighboring countries. On November 14, the Tigre enforces fired rockets into Eritrea. The conflict has also forced thousands of Ethiopians to seek refuge in neighboring Sudan. At least 25,000 Ethiopians have already fled to Sudan and Sudanese officials fear this number may go up to 200,000. Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa. As the conflict spreads, it is feared that it could have a destabilizing effect on the broader region. How did this conflict begin? The fighting between the armed forces of the Ethiopian federal government and that of the Tigre regional government began on November 4. Tigre is located on the northern end of the country. It is ruled by the Tigre People's Liberation Front or the TPLF. The military escalation began when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abe Ahmad ordered the military into the Tigre region. He alleged that the armed forces of the regional government had attacked the Ethiopian National Defense Forces base located in Tigre in the early hours of November 4. On November 14, a senior TPLF member admitted to carrying out a preemptive strike on this base. Even before this, however, there were already tensions between the TPLF and Prime Minister Abe Ahmad. The TPLF was a dominant political force in Ethiopia from the 1990s until 2018 when Abe became the Prime Minister. He came to power as a reformer in the backdrop of the popular anti-government protests demanding greater civil and political rights. This simmering tension escalated when the federal government decided to postpone the election scheduled for August 2020 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mandates of both the federal and the regional governments were extended. The Tigre regional government declared this extension as unconstitutional and conducted their own elections in September. The federal and the regional governments have since declared each other illegitimate. Tigre was on the frontline of the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea between 1998 to 2000. It remains the most heavily armed of all the autonomous regions in Ethiopia. With an estimated 250,000 soldiers, the Tigrean troops amount to over half of Ethiopia's armed forces. They are loyal to the TPLF. Prime Minister Abe had negotiated a peace deal with Eritrea against the TPLF's wishes soon after coming to power in 2018. The TPLF has been accusing Eritrea of supporting the federal troops in this conflict. Eritrea has denied the allegation of sending its troops into Ethiopia, but the federal troops fighting in Tigre have used Eritrean territory to retreat and regroup before relaunching attacks. Tigrean forces have admitted to launching rockets into Eritrea in retaliation. The UN has warned in a report on November 7th that up to 9 million people could be displaced if the conflict in Tigre continues. While the TPLF is willing to negotiate with the federal government, Prime Minister Abe maintains that the negotiations can start only after the TPLF has been disarmed and the federal government's authority in the region is restored. This insistence of Abe Ahmad is putting at risk the civil rights gains that were made in Ethiopia after the reforms he himself had initiated. Before 2018, political parties were not allowed to operate outside the ruling coalition which was dominated by the TPLF. Journalists and bloggers were often jailed for no reason and other ethnic groups felt oppressed by the Tigreans. Abe Ahmad instituted sweeping reforms on coming to power on the back of the anti-government protests. He opened up the political space, freed political prisoners and allowed other political parties to operate. Now with the conflict worsening, Ethiopians fear a slight back towards authoritarianism. Already at least six journalists have been arrested since the conflict started. Some other people of Tigrean ethnicity have also been arrested by the national intelligence from Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. According to state-controlled media, 17 military officers have been arrested and charged with treason. Prime Minister Abe is continuing to refuse any international help including UN's offer to mediate. His statement on November 15th said, As a sovereign nation, Ethiopia reaffirms its capability and resolve to manage and handle its own rule of law operation without any external intervention.