Addis Ababa, Apr 27 (IANS): Thousands of people have entered Ethiopia fleeing fighting in neighbouring Sudan, an Ethiopian official said.

Speaking to local media, Gizachew Muluneh, the head of the communication bureau in Ethiopia's Amhara region, said on Wednesday that in the last five days, thousands of people have entered the West Gonder zone of Amhara region fleeing fighting in Sudan.

Muluneh added that the regional administration and the federal government are jointly providing emergency humanitarian aid as well as material support to the refugees who are of various nationalities. He also said scores of Ethiopians who were previously residing in Sudan have crossed back to their home country in the last few days.

"The local host population is also providing food and water to the refugees which mainly consist of children, women, mothers and the elderly," Muluneh said.

Brutal fighting erupted in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, on April 15 and swiftly escalated in different parts of the country, Xinhua news agency reported.

The ongoing fighting is pitting the Sudanese Army against the country's paramilitary force, the Rapid Support Force (RSF). Both sides have accused each other of initiating the conflict.

Deep differences have emerged between the Sudanese Army and the RSF, particularly regarding the latter's integration into the army as stipulated in a framework agreement signed between military and civilian leaders on December 5, 2022.

In December 2022, Sudan's military and civilian leaders signed a political framework agreement to end the political impasse and institute a two-year transitional civilian authority, but the two sides have so far failed to transform the agreement into a final deal.