U.N. says it plans for 200,000 Ethiopian refugees in Sudan

U.N. agencies are planning for the possible arrival of 200,000 refugees in Sudan fleeing violence in Ethiopia over a six-month period, a U.N. refugee agency official said on Friday.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people have died since Ethiopian government troops launched a war two weeks ago in northern Tigray state against regional authorities they accused of staging a surprise attack on federal forces.

Thousands of refugees have fled, some crowding into boats to cross a river to Sudan, overwhelming aid groups positioned on the other side.

"Together with all the agencies we have built a response plan for about 20,000 people and currently we are at about 31,000 so it has already surpassed that figure," Axel Bisschop told a Geneva briefing. "The new planning figure is around 200,000."

UNICEF's Sudan-based representative Abdullah Fadil said there were concerns about disease spreading amongst the crowds, of whom nearly half are children.

U.N. agencies are seeking $50 million in immediate funding which will go towards providing food and setting up new camps.