Tigray fighting drives new Ethiopia war fears

Tigray fighting has sent hundreds of Ethiopians across the border into Sudan after clashes broke out over the weekend between regional forces and the Ethiopian army. The violence, centered in Shererina near Sudan, has raised fresh alarms that northern Ethiopia could again spiral into a wider war.

The confrontation began on Saturday morning and continued into Sunday, according to a member of the Tigray People's Liberation Front. He said the fighting involved heavy artillery and drones. Sudanese medical and local sources told AFP that civilians and wounded fighters crossed into Sudan as witnesses described explosions, heavy gunfire and aircraft overhead throughout the day.

This was one of the most serious outbreaks of violence in the region since the end of the civil war four years ago. That conflict between the TPLF and Ethiopia's federal government lasted two years and left hundreds of thousands dead before an African Union-brokered peace deal in 2022 brought it to a halt. The new fighting has revived long-standing doubts about whether that settlement can hold.

Those fears are tied to the fact that the peace arrangement has never been fully carried out. The TPLF is back in control of Tigray after forcing out the interim administration created under the agreement. That political standoff has left the region fragile and has kept mistrust high between the regional leadership and Addis Ababa.

Both sides blamed each other for starting the clashes. The TPLF-led regional administration accused the federal government of launching what it called an open war in the Shererina area. It said the attack violated the peace deal and was meant to subjugate and divide the people of Tigray.