Fears of return to war grow in Ethiopia's Tigray region

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Published: 2026-09-24T04:32:23.381Z • Permanent link

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government has revealed new intelligence suggesting that fighting is likely to resume in the country's embattled Tigray region, four years after a fragile peace deal ended a devastating conflict. The news has sent shockwaves through the international community, with diplomats and analysts hailing the development as a major escalation of tensions. The fragile peace deal was brokered by the African Union and the United Nations in 2020, following nearly two years of brutal fighting between government forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which had controlled the region.

Eyewitnesses report that fighting has already broken out in several parts of Tigray, with reports of aerial bombardment and ground fighting in the towns of Humera and Gondar. Humanitarian organizations are scrambling to respond to the growing crisis, with aid agencies warning of a potential disaster of epic proportions. The United Nations has dispatched a team of humanitarian experts to the region, while the African Union has convened an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis.

Critics of the government's handling of the crisis are pointing to a pattern of escalation and repression, with Abiy Ahmed's administration having cracked down on opposition groups and journalists in recent months. The TPLF has also accused the government of failing to address the root causes of the conflict, including poverty, inequality, and ethnic tensions. Diplomatic sources say that the United States, European Union, and other major powers are holding urgent talks with Abiy Ahmed's government to try to prevent a return to war.

The crisis in Tigray is the latest chapter in a long-running conflict that has ravaged Ethiopia since the mid-1990s. The TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for decades, was overthrown in a military coup in 2018, leading to a period of instability and fragmentation. Abiy Ahmed's government, which came to power in 2018, has faced intense pressure to address the crisis, with many Ethiopians calling for greater accountability and transparency.

Historical comparisons are being drawn between the current crisis and the devastating conflict that ravaged Ethiopia in the 1980s and 1990s. The Eritrean-Ethiopian War, which ended in 1998, is widely regarded as one of the bloodiest conflicts in African history, with estimates suggesting that up to two million people died in the fighting. Diplomats and analysts say that the current crisis in Tigray has echoes of this earlier conflict, with many worrying that the international community may be too slow to act.

Regional dynamics are also playing a major role in the crisis, with the African Union and United Nations struggling to assert their authority in the face of competing regional interests. The Horn of Africa, which includes Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Djibouti, has long been a hotbed of tension and conflict, with many worrying that the crisis in Tigray could have wider regional implications.