Africa News
Tigrayan leaders say a new conflict with Ethiopia’s federal government has begun after fighting erupted in Tigray and neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions, threatening the 2022 peace agreement.
Leaders in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region say a new war with the federal government has begun after fighting erupted in Tigray and neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions.
The renewed violence threatens to undermine the Pretoria Agreement, which ended the 2020–2022 Tigray war between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopian federal forces. That conflict resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.
The latest clashes follow months of rising tensions between the TPLF and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. The TPLF also recently announced an alliance with six other armed groups across Ethiopia, saying the coalition seeks to challenge the federal government.
Tigray’s regional administration said its forces had been instructed to respond to what it described as attacks by the federal government.
Getachew Reda, an adviser to Prime Minister Abiy and former TPLF official, accused Tigrayan forces of seizing federally controlled airports in Tigray and launching an offensive against government positions in Afar and Amhara.
Four sources cited by Reuters, including Ethiopian government, diplomatic, humanitarian and TPLF-linked sources, confirmed fighting in the three regions. Tigrayan forces were reportedly fighting alongside a local armed group in Afar and the Fano militia in Amhara.
Ethiopian Airlines has suspended flights to the Tigray region amid the renewed violence.
The Ethiopian government has accused the TPLF of violating the Pretoria Agreement, while the TPLF says its actions are defensive. Eritrea has also been accused by Ethiopian officials of supporting armed groups, although Eritrea has repeatedly denied such allegations.
The renewed fighting raises concerns over a wider escalation in northern Ethiopia and the future of the fragile peace established in 2022.
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