Oyeb Bari was woken by the sounds of guns and live ammunition on the night of November 9. The 55-year-old mother of six wasn't immediately sure what was happening, but had heard about the unrest in her region.
It wasn't long before "abusive" men started to bang on doors, and Oyeb realized her family was in danger.
They left their home onto the streets of Mai-Kadra, a market town in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia. There she said she saw men, women and children being slaughtered by the aggressors with sharp weapons like machetes and knives.
Oyeb fled with four of her children on foot through forest pathways until they reached the Sudanese border, a few miles away. From there, they were transported by car to the Hamdayet refugee transit center, where they will stay until humanitarian organizations relocate them to a camp.
Her husband and two of her children are missing, she told CNN at Hamdayet.
"I thank the Sudanese people for giving us this home, but we are still hungry," she said. "We took nothing with us, we just fled with the clothes we are wearing."
A large number of civilians were killed in the massacre at Mai-Kadra, although CNN has been unable to independently confirm who was responsible for it, or the exact death toll.
The incident came days after Ethiopia's federal government declared "war" with the region's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), earlier this month. Ethiopian Prime Minister and Nobel laureate Abiy Ahmed ordered the Ethiopian Defense Forces (EDF) to lead a "law enforcement operation" in the area, which includes air strikes.
It is a conflict that threatens to undo years of progress in Africa's second most populous country and the restive Horn of Africa region.
Thousands like Oyeb have made the journey to neighboring Sudan where they have encountered a shortage of food, beds and shelter. The UN has described Tigray as a humanitarian crisis, and one which will only escalate in the coming weeks.
It wasn't long before "abusive" men started to bang on doors, and Oyeb realized her family was in danger.
They left their home onto the streets of Mai-Kadra, a market town in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia. There she said she saw men, women and children being slaughtered by the aggressors with sharp weapons like machetes and knives.
Oyeb fled with four of her children on foot through forest pathways until they reached the Sudanese border, a few miles away. From there, they were transported by car to the Hamdayet refugee transit center, where they will stay until humanitarian organizations relocate them to a camp.
Her husband and two of her children are missing, she told CNN at Hamdayet.
"I thank the Sudanese people for giving us this home, but we are still hungry," she said. "We took nothing with us, we just fled with the clothes we are wearing."
A large number of civilians were killed in the massacre at Mai-Kadra, although CNN has been unable to independently confirm who was responsible for it, or the exact death toll.
The incident came days after Ethiopia's federal government declared "war" with the region's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), earlier this month. Ethiopian Prime Minister and Nobel laureate Abiy Ahmed ordered the Ethiopian Defense Forces (EDF) to lead a "law enforcement operation" in the area, which includes air strikes.
It is a conflict that threatens to undo years of progress in Africa's second most populous country and the restive Horn of Africa region.
Thousands like Oyeb have made the journey to neighboring Sudan where they have encountered a shortage of food, beds and shelter. The UN has described Tigray as a humanitarian crisis, and one which will only escalate in the coming weeks.