Fighting Resumes In Ethiopia's Tigray Region

Fighting Resumes in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region, Sparking Fears of Wider Conflict ETHIOPIA Rebels from the northern region of Tigray launched a major offensive against Ethiopia’s federal government Wednesday, threatening a return to full-scale war and effectively breaking the 2022 peace agreement that ended a two-year conflict that killed hundreds of thousands of people. Forces from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) seized control of airports in the Tigrayan cities of Mekelle and Shire, and reportedly Axum, while also launching attacks against government positions in the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions. Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to all three cities. Getachew Reda – an adviser to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and a former TPLF leader – accused Tigrayan forces of launching an "all-out offensive" against government positions. The Afar regional government also accused the TPLF of launching an invasion and said its forces would defend the region alongside their allies. The TPLF-led regional administration, however, described its actions as a “defensive” war and accused Abiy’s administration of intensifying aggression against the northern region. Wednesday’s fighting followed months of growing tensions and sporadic clashes. The Ethiopian military has carried out a number of drone strikes against Tigrayan forces and massed troops near the regional border. In May, the TPLF seized control of Tigray’s government from the interim administration established under the peace deal. Ethiopia and the TPLF previously clashed during a 2020-2022 civil conflict that killed around 600,000 people. A 2022 peace agreement ended the fighting, but many conditions of the deal remain unfulfilled and both sides have accused each other of violations. Tensions escalated over the weekend after the TPLF also announced an alliance with six other armed groups aimed at overthrowing Abiy’s government. The armed coalition included former rivals of the TPLF, which had fought with the government during the Tigrayan war. But Wednesday’s offensive showed Tigrayan forces were fighting alongside a local armed group in Afar and the Fano militia in Amhara. The Fano fought alongside the federal government during the 2020-2022 Tigray war before rebelling against it in 2023. Meanwhile, there were concerns that Eritrea could be involved in the conflict: Eritrea, Ethiopia’s neighbor and historical adversary, militarily backed the federal government against the TPLF during the war, although relations between Addis Ababa and Asmara have since deteriorated. Eritrea has repeatedly denied accusations that it supports Ethiopian armed groups and declined to comment Wednesday on the latest developments. Diplomats and analysts have warned that renewed war could turn into a broader regional conflict and further destabilize the Horn of Africa and the wider Red Sea region.