Fears of return to war as Tigray rebels launch offensive against Ethiopian army

Fighting escalates after TPLF forms new rebel coalition aimed at overthrowing Abiy Ahmed government There are growing fears of a return to civil war in Ethiopia after an offensive by rebels from Tigray into the neighbouring states of Afar and Amhara, and the formation of a new rebel coalition aimed at overthrowing the government of the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed. Fighting from 2020 to 2022 between the Ethiopian army and the political party and paramilitary group Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) killed about 600,000 people. Both sides are now accusing the other of triggering a return to open conflict. On Sunday, seven armed groups from around the country, including TPLF, announced the formation of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, aimed at deposing the government in Addis Ababa. Then, on Wednesday, TPLF seized control of three airports from federal police. The state-owned carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, said it had suspended flights to the region “due to the current situation”. TPLF also launched attacks into Afar and Amhara. A humanitarian source in Afar told Agence France-Presse (AFP) there were heavy artillery attacks by the group on Thursday as they attempted to take control of the town of Yallo, near the Tigrayan border. TPLF’s vice-president, Amanuel Assefa, told AFP: “We are in the situation of full-blown war now.”

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