Since the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea resumed on May 12, a large portion of the Eritrean population has been displaced.

According to the Eritrean government agency, ERREC (Eritrean Relief and Refugee Commission), the advance of the Ethiopian army into Eritrea has resulted in the displacement of 550,000 Eritreans.

The situation is unclear as to where the populations have settled. MSF currently has a team in the Gash Barka area, but has been denied access to the Debub.

After the western city of Barentu fell and the city of Agordat was abandoned, hundreds of thousands of Eritreans reportedly have fled in eastwards to the city of Keren and towards the Sudanese border in the West. There are 17,000 refugees in and around the Sudanese border town of Kassala. MSF teams are present to assess the situation, which is not urgent so far.

In Eritrea itself, MSF is trying to get an overview of the stream of refugees in the West. According to unconfirmed reports, there are up to 100,000 refugees located around Teseney and Guluj. They are without shelter and access to healthcare. An MSF team is travelling to the area and will supply them with jerrycans, plastic sheeting and medicine.

Eritrea has announced it would be willing to hand back conquered Ethiopian territory and accept a cease-fire. At the time of writing, it was not clear if Ethiopia would accept the offer.