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Hundreds flee fighting in northern Ethiopia as fears rise of return to civil war
BBC • • world
Key Points:
- Intense clashes erupted over the weekend in Shererina, northern Ethiopia, between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian federal army, causing hundreds of people to flee into neighboring Sudan.
- The fighting involved heavy artillery and drones, marking one of the most serious confrontations since the civil war ended in 2022 with an African Union-brokered peace deal.
- The TPLF accused the federal government of launching an "open war" violating the peace agreement, while the federal minister blamed the TPLF for starting the violence and warned of worsening consequences.
- Concerns are rising over a possible return to full-scale conflict as the peace deal remains unimplemented and TPLF has regained control of Tigray, with fears the fighting could escalate into a proxy conflict linked to Sudan's civil war.
- The death toll remains unclear, but reports confirm civilians and fighters have crossed into Sudan seeking refuge amid ongoing explosions and gunfire in the disputed western Tigray region.
