Tension, mutual accusations in Ethiopia between government and TPLF amid international calls for calm

Tensions renewed in Ethiopia after the exchange of accusations between the government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). The international community rushed to call on the two parties to stop the fighting amid fears of the threat to the truce signed between the two parties last March.

The TPLF accused Addis Ababa and its militia of launching what they called a “large-scale offensive” on Wednesday, August 25.

The Ethiopian government later responded, accusing the TPLF of launching an attack on the eastern front of the Amhara region, considering that the attack was a violation of the 5-month-old ceasefire, and held the TPLF responsible for its consequences.

The Ethiopian government said it had shot down a plane, which it claimed was transporting weapons to the rebels via Sudan.

The head of the National Defense and Deployment Coordination Department, Major General Tesfaye Ayalu, told the Ethiopian News Agency that his government believes that the plane belongs to its historical enemies, without naming them clearly.

In turn, the TPLF denied these allegations and said in a tweet that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed justified his ongoing campaign of what it described as genocide, calling on the international community to prevent him from doing so.

The allegations of a new offensive comes five months after the TPLF and the Ethiopian government reached a truce after more than a year of brutal war that began in November 2020.

International concern

The international community was increasingly concerned after the mutual accusations and was quick to call for restraint.

The chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, expressed his “deep concern” over the renewed fighting in Ethiopia, calling in a statement “for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the resumption of talks in pursuit of a peaceful solution.”

Faki affirmed the African Union's continued commitment to work with the parties to support a consensual political process for the benefit of the country, calling on both sides to communicate with the AU's envoy for the Horn of Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo, who is leading international efforts to end the 21-month conflict in northern Ethiopia between the TPLF and government forces.

The United States on Wednesday called on both sides to hold talks to end the renewed fighting, saying the truce had saved “countless lives.”

“We are concerned by reports of renewed hostilities in Ethiopia and call on the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front to redouble efforts to advance talks towards a permanent ceasefire without preconditions,” said US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel.

In turn, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was shocked by the renewed fighting in Ethiopia and appealed for an immediate ceasefire.

Death, violence, starvation

It is impossible to know the true toll of the last war in Ethiopia, yet researchers from Belgium's University of Ghent estimate that as many as half a million people have died so far: 50,000-100,000 from fighting, 150,000-200,000 from starvation, and more than 100,000 from food shortages and lack of medical services.

Although the TPLF have been accused of crimes, including murder and rape, against other ethnic groups, Abiy Ahmed's soldiers are responsible for most of the civilian casualties, especially those from starvation and neglect. Humanitarian organizations say government forces are preventing food aid and medicine from reaching Tigray.