Longtime foes Ethiopia and Eritrea could be headed towards war, officials in a restive Ethiopian region at the centre of the tensions have warned, risking another humanitarian disaster in the Horn of Africa.

As tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea escalate, the region of Tigray stands at the heart of a looming conflict, writes one of the leaders of the armed struggle in Tigray against the Derg.

Officials administering Ethiopia's Tigray region asked for federal help on Wednesday as a faction of the main regional party seized control of a town, stoking fears of a return to conflict in the war-scarred region.

Ethiopia with its over 125 million people had been the biggest beneficiary of U.S. aid in sub-Saharan Africa, receiving $1.8 billion in the 2023 financial year.