A resident of Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, says that the atmosphere is calm but people are very stressed after fighting broke out between government troops and the party that controls the region on Wednesday, raising fears of a return to full-scale civil war.

He says that many banks have been running low on cash for months, leaving people to rely on mobile banking, with fears that could now be blocked.

An adviser to Ethiopia’s prime minister accused the Tigray People’s Liberation Front of launching an all-out offensive, including in the two neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara. The Tigrayans say they are engaged in defensive combat.