Hundreds of civilians killed in attack in Ethiopia's Somali region

The government of Ethiopia's Somali region on Tuesday accused militia from the neighbouring Afar region of killing hundreds of civilians in an attack.

The Somali regional government's spokesperson Ali Bedel told Reuters that an armed militia from the Afar region carried out a "massacre" on Saturday in an area known as both Gedamaytu and Gabraiisa. 

The area is one of several contested ones along the border between the Somali and Afar regions.

Two senior officials from the Somali government also confirmed the attack, speaking on condition of anonymity. They did not give a specific casualty toll.

Afar regional government spokesperson Ahmed Koloyta did not immediately respond to comment requests.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm details of the attack. One official said the government had dispatched health officials to the area to help the "high number" of injured people.

However, the United Nations refugee agency said, some 24,000 Eritrean refugee are trapped in two camps in Ethiopia's Tigray region, cut off from humanitarian aid and where food rations may have run out.

Fighting between armed groups has escalated in and around the camps, Mai Aini and Adi Harush, and two refugees have been killed this month, it said, adding it not know who the groups are.