Key facts
- Ethiopian President Taye Atske-Selassie Amde stated Ethiopia has "exercised immense restraint" amid interference.
- The president's remarks came hours after renewed fighting between the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the federal government shattered a four-year-old peace deal.
- Tigrayan forces seized control of the region's main airports and attacked federal forces in two neighboring regions.
- The TPLF announced an alliance with six other Ethiopian armed groups aimed at overthrowing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
- Veteran military leaders, including former commander-in-chief Tadesse Werede, were detained after expressing doubts about the new war.
Ethiopian President Taye Atske-Selassie Amde told world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Ethiopia has "exercised immense restraint" and achieved notable progress with its neighbors in spite of "reckless external actors." His remarks came hours after renewed fighting between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government shattered a four-year-old peace deal.
The new hostilities follow months of growing animosity between the two sides, threatening a wider regional conflict. "Despite continued interference in our internal affairs by adversarial elements, we have exercised immense restraint," Selassie Amde said. "Our message to forces of destruction and mayhem is that the people of the Horn of Africa have the right to live in peace."
The TPLF, the biggest political party in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region, entered a new conflict with Addis Ababa following the outbreak of fighting on Wednesday. Tigrayan forces seized control of the region's main airports and attacked federal forces in two neighboring regions as part of what they called a defensive war in response to federal government aggression. This dynamic has been turned on its head compared to the last war in 2020, when the TPLF was isolated amid a sea of enemies but had internal cohesion.
This time, the TPLF has announced an alliance with six other Ethiopian armed groups aimed at overthrowing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. Regional experts also widely believe it is receiving support from neighboring Eritrea, which denies this. However, the TPLF's grip over Tigrayan society has weakened significantly since the end of the last war in 2022, facing protests over dire economic conditions, increasing competition from rival parties, and defections of leading members.