Eritrean residents of the Ethiopian capital have reported widespread arrests in their community, sparking fear among refugees and asylum seekers who fled their homeland in search of a better life.

While the scale and intensity of the current crackdowns in Addis Ababa are not unprecedented, hundreds have reportedly been arrested in recent weeks.

The city’s police did not respond to the BBC’s requests for comment, but the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission – an independent body set up by the country’s parliament – said it would launch an investigation.

Eritrea and Ethiopia share a border and tensions between the two neighbors have existed for decades.

After a 2018 peace deal, relations appeared to intensify, but then deteriorated again.

An Eritrean refugee, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, said he was arrested after someone heard him speaking Tigrinya – a language spoken in Eritrea and Ethiopia’s Tigray region.

“We were sitting in a cafe when someone heard us speaking Tigrinya and called the police.

“Six officers came and arrested us. Later, the inspector-in-charge demanded cash to release us, with the payments being secretly arranged to avoid providing evidence,” he alleged.

Many Eritreans in Addis Ababa are refugees who have fled forced military conscription and government repression in their birth country.

Over 20,000 Eritreans have entered Ethiopia this year, adding to the 70,000 refugees already registered in the country.

While some Eritreans sought protection in Ethiopia afterwards 18 months ago, a brutal civil war broke out in Sudan,

A refugee told the BBC that his sister was arrested on her way to the shops and detained for three weeks.

“I can’t visit her because I’m afraid of being arrested myself. So I send Ethiopian friends to check on her and deliver food and clothing. I’m afraid they might deport them to Eritrea,” he said.

A return to Eritrea would mean the risk of imprisonment for many refugees.

While some detainees have been released, many remain in custody. Some were held for weeks or even months without due process.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) told BBC Tigrinya that it had received reports of the detention of Eritrean refugees and expressed deep concern about the matter.

Refugees’ desperation is increasing and many are looking for alternative ways to leave Ethiopia. However, there are reports that Eritreans were even arrested when they tried to inquire about the travel documents they needed to leave the country.

The arrests have highlighted broader concerns about the safety of Eritrean refugees across Ethiopia. In the Alemwach refugee camp in the Amhara region, refugees report frequent robberies, kidnappings and physical attacks by armed groups.

“Some refugees were shot dead while others were stabbed to take their belongings such as mobile phones. At least nine refugees were killed last year,” said a camp official.

Some refugees draw parallels to the mass arrests and deportations of Eritreans during the 1998-2000 war between the two countries, when thousands were forcibly displaced from Ethiopia.

Ties have deteriorated again after the end of one Two-year civil war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.

Flights and telephone connections between the two countries have been suspendedand diplomatic contact between their leaders ceased.

Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia are calling on the international community, particularly the United Nations and human rights organizations, to intervene.

An Eritrean who has lived and studied in Addis Ababa for six years described the arrests as indiscriminate and deliberate.

“Both documented and undocumented Eritreans are being targeted. Even mothers visiting detained family members have been arrested,” he told the BBC.

Another refugee said: “The arrests are unjustified and our lives are in danger. We fled persecution in Eritrea only to face it here.”