Fighting between Ethiopia’s federal and Tigrayan forces has spread into Afar and Amhara as seven armed groups unite to oust Abiy Ahmed’s government. Analysts say the conflict is not yet a full-scale civil war; both sides blame the other for the clashes.
Announced this month, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival includes seven movements, among them the TPLF, Amhara Fano National Movement and Oromo Liberation Army. They share a goal of removing Abiy but have different aims. The TPLF and Fano, former enemies who fought on opposite sides in the 2020–22 war, still have competing claims to western Tigray. The 2022 Pretoria agreement ended that war but left territorial and other disputes unresolved.
Tigrayan forces have taken control of the airports at Mekelle, Axum and Shire, disrupting civilian flights; the African Union says the seizures are inconsistent with the Pretoria agreement. Reports differ over control of Abala, while the Ethiopian army’s claim that it killed more than 270 rebel fighters in Amhara has not been independently verified. About three-quarters of a million people remained displaced within Tigray before this escalation. The AU called for an immediate halt and renewed talks, asking former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to engage the parties urgently; IGAD urged neighbouring countries to avoid worsening the crisis.
