Could a new war in Ethiopia engulf the Horn of Africa?

A destroyed tank is seen in a field in the aftermath of fighting between the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) forces in Kasagita town, in Afar region, Ethiopia, February 25, 2022. Credit: REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

Four years ago, a peace agreement ended one of the deadliest conflicts of this century, the Tigray War in northern Ethiopia. Fighting between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a political party and armed rebel movement controlling the northern Tigray region, claimed 600,000 lives and displaced over 5 million people. Now that conflict has reignited – and with it, fears that fighting could spread across the Horn of Africa.

Last week, forces belonging to the TPLF seized three airports and attacked the states of Afar and Amhara, located in northeastern Ethiopia. The offensive came days after the TPLF joined six other armed rebel groups in forming the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival (EPFAS), which seeks to overthrow Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. Read more