Ethiopian President Warns of Outside Interference as Tigray Fighting Resumes

Fighting has resumed in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, threatening a peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year conflict, as President Taye Atske Selassie accused outside actors of interfering in the country’s internal affairs.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, the Ethiopian president said his government had “exercised immense restraint” despite what he described as continued external interference. The source of the alleged interference was not independently established.

The latest clashes involve Ethiopian federal troops and fighters loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), according to the available account. The renewed violence has effectively broken the 2022 peace pact, which ended a war that killed hundreds of thousands of people through an African Union-brokered process.

Opposition alliance announced

The escalation comes as the TPLF and six other opposition groups have formed an alliance for armed struggle. The alliance says its aim is to overthrow Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and the governing Prosperity Party.

The Prosperity Party was re-elected in June polls that were boycotted by major opposition groups. The identities of the six other organizations in the new alliance have not been provided.

In his address, President Taye appealed to what he called forces of destruction and mayhem to respect the right of people in the Horn of Africa to live in peace and prosperity.

“Our message to forces of destruction and mayhem is loud and clear. We urge them to respect the sacred right of the people of the Horn of Africa to live in peace and prosperity,” he said.

Calls to revive peace process

The United Nations and the European Union have called for restraint and urged the parties to return to the African Union-brokered peace process.

The president’s remarks appeared to be directed at Egypt and Eritrea, although the available report does not say that he explicitly named either country. Ethiopia and Eritrea have longstanding tensions involving border, security and regional matters, while Ethiopia and Egypt have disputes connected to the Nile and Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam.

Taye also said Ethiopia remained committed to becoming one of Africa’s most prosperous and dynamic development engines. However, the renewed fighting and the emergence of an opposition alliance have added pressure to the peace arrangement reached in 2022.

The source does not provide detailed casualty figures for the latest clashes or a precise date for when the fighting began again.