Fighting has re-ignited across Ethiopia, shattering a four-year truce between the federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). The conflict, which began with TPLF forces seizing airports in the Tigray region, has quickly spread to neighboring Afar and Amhara regions. Tigrayan forces claim the federal government launched a "full-scale offensive" involving infantry, mechanized units, and drones, while the Ethiopian army stated it repelled TPLF attacks, inflicting heavy casualties and seizing weapons. Ethiopian Airlines has suspended flights across Tigray due to the escalating situation, and local reports indicate Tigrayan forces have captured Abala, a district capital in Afar.
This escalation follows months of heightened tensions and a recent development where the TPLF, along with six other armed groups, announced the formation of the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival, with the stated goal of removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government. The previous civil war between 2020 and 2022 resulted in an estimated 600,000 deaths and displaced about three-quarters of a million people in Tigray. The current renewed fighting raises concerns from international bodies like the East African bloc IGAD, which has called for a cessation of hostilities and a return to dialogue, and the United Nations, which expressed concern over the new armed coalition and reports of drone attacks.
The economic impact is already being felt, particularly in Tigray. Residents of Mekelle, Tigray's capital, report that local forces have taken over the city's airport, and concerns about cash shortages are high. People had been relying on mobile banking, but fears of communications being cut off could lead to a severe lack of access to funds. The region had not fully recovered from the previous war, with about one million people still displaced and many aspects of the Pretoria Peace Agreement unfulfilled, making the current escalation particularly devastating for the local population.
