Fighting has erupted once more in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where former adversaries are now joining forces against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. The renewed clashes threaten to unravel the Pretoria peace agreement that ended the country’s deadliest recent war and could pull neighboring Eritrea into a new regional conflict.
Key developments
Both federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) accuse each other of restarting hostilities nearly four years after the November 2022 Pretoria agreement. The TPLF has formed an alliance with six other opposition groups, including the Amhara Fano National Movement and the Oromo Liberation Army, creating a coalition that blends political opposition with an “opportunistic military alliance,” according to Magnus Taylor, deputy project director for the Horn of Africa at the International Crisis Group.
In response to the seizure of Mekelle airport by Tigrayan forces, Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to the region. Residents reported that roads linking Tigray with the neighboring Afar region were closed, though the Associated Press could not independently verify the closures. Internet monitoring group NetBlocks also reported disruptions across northern Ethiopia, recalling the isolation that civilians endured during the previous war.
Potential for wider conflict
The coalition’s ability to coordinate could force federal troops to fight on multiple fronts, but it remains uncertain whether groups with deep territorial disputes can conduct joint operations effectively. Taylor warned that the fighting could spread across Ethiopia and draw in Eritrea, which previously fought alongside federal forces in the earlier Tigray war. Relations between Addis Ababa and Asmara have since deteriorated sharply, and both sides have exchanged accusations of supporting armed opponents.
Human Rights Watch regional director Laetitia Bader noted that key provisions of the Pretoria agreement have been violated for years, citing forced expulsions of ethnic Tigrayans from western Tigray. While the organization could not independently verify all claims, the report underscores the humanitarian toll of the conflict.
Humanitarian implications
Researchers at Ghent University estimate that the earlier war caused about 500,000 civilian deaths in Tigray, largely due to famine and a collapsed health system. The conflict displaced millions and left lasting scars on the region’s infrastructure. Bader warned that renewed fighting could further disrupt transport and communications, making it harder to deliver food and medicine and to document civilian suffering.
Preventing a broader war will require an immediate cease‑fire, renewed negotiations, and sustained international pressure to keep Ethiopia’s separate conflicts from converging. The situation remains fluid, and observers stress the urgency of diplomatic engagement to avoid another regional crisis alongside the ongoing war in neighboring Sudan.
Original reporting: Alexandria, VA News – WTOP News — read the source article.
