Ethiopian military reports killing of TPLF rebels amid renewed conflict

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) engaged in conflict with the Ethiopian military from 2020 to 2022, resulting in significant civilian casualties. Renewed fighting has raised concerns about a potential escalation of violence. On Thursday, clashes intensified between Ethiopian troops and the TPLF, jeopardizing a fragile peace agreement established in 2022. The renewed conflict began in the Tigray Region on Wednesday. TPLF vice president Amanuel Assefa stated, "We are in the situation of full-blown war now," according to AFP news agency. Ethiopia's military reported that it launched a counter-offensive, claiming to have inflicted heavy losses on the TPLF, including the deaths of 272 rebels and injuries to approximately 260 others. These figures have not been independently verified, and there was no distinction made between military and civilian casualties. The African Union, United Nations, and other international observers have urged for restraint and de-escalation. US Ambassador to Ethiopia, Ervin J. Massinga, expressed disappointment over the TPLF's decision to initiate a large-scale offensive, emphasizing the need for dialogue facilitated by the African Union. The TPLF was the dominant political force in Ethiopia from 1991 until 2018, governing alongside a coalition of ethnic-based parties. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who took office in 2018, shifted the political landscape by promoting a government not based on ethnic lines, led by his Prosperity Party. Abiy's foreign policy included efforts to improve relations with Eritrea, which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. However, his push for Ethiopia to gain access to a seaport was viewed as provocative by Eritrea and Somalia. The TPLF's rebellion against Abiy in 2020 led to a two-year war that resulted in approximately 500,000 deaths due to violence, famine, and health service collapse. Eritrean troops supported Ethiopian federal forces during this conflict. Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie Amde condemned "the forces of destruction and mayhem" and external interference during a speech at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. Reports of fighting have also emerged from the Amhara region in the Ethiopian highlands, including around the UNESCO-listed rock-hewn churches in Lalibela, leading to the suspension of flights to the area. The TPLF has formed an alliance with Amhara's Fano militia, which has been conducting its own insurgency since 2023. The Fano militia initially opposed TPLF rule, and both groups have ongoing territorial disputes over land transferred to the Amhara region from Tigray after the last war. Kjetil Tronvoll, a peace and conflict studies professor at Oslo New University College, noted that the primary unifying factor for the alliance is their opposition to Prosperity Party governance.