Tigray political parties urge foreign governments to pressure Ethiopia to avert renewed war

A coalition of political parties from Ethiopia’s Tigray region has called on foreign governments and international organisations to pressure Addis Ababa to ease restrictions on the region and prevent what it warned could be a renewed war. In a letter addressed to governments including Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, the United States and Britain, as well as the United Nations, African Union and European Union, the Tigray Political Parties Forum (TPPF) said tensions were rising more than three years after a peace deal ended the two-year conflict in northern Ethiopia.

The forum said key provisions of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) signed in November 2022 had not been fully implemented, blaming what it described as a lack of commitment by the Ethiopian government. It said more than 1.2 million people from Tigray remained displaced, living in camps or makeshift shelters and in refugee camps in neighbouring Sudan without adequate access to food, healthcare or education.

The group also accused the federal government of restoring restrictions on the region, including limiting fuel supplies, suspending budget transfers since October and restricting banking services, trade and transport.

“Banks have stopped delivering proper services as they run out of cash,” the forum said in the letter, adding that fuel deliveries had been halted entirely since January 2026. The TPPF also warned of what it described as military preparations by Ethiopian forces around Tigray, saying such deployments could risk a return to conflict.

“Another round of war is going to be catastrophic and will likely engulf the whole of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa region,” the forum said.

The coalition urged the international community to pressure Ethiopia to de-escalate tensions by withdrawing troops from around Tigray and lifting what it called administrative and economic blockades, including restrictions on budget transfers, banking services, fuel supplies and trade. It also called for international support for dialogue between Tigray authorities and the federal government, as well as assistance for the safe return of displaced people and restoration of territories recognised under Ethiopia’s constitution prior to the 2020 war.

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Recently renewed instability has emerged in northern Ethiopia, particularly in the Tigray region, where tensions between Ethiopian federal forces and Tigrayan fighters have escalated since January this year. Clashes, troop buildups along regional borders, and rising political tensions have raised fears that the fragile peace following the 2022 war could collapse. The situation has heightened concerns among observers that the region could slide back into a broader armed conflict if current tensions continue to intensify.

Fighting first flared between January 29 and February 1, this year, in the Tselemti district, where forces linked to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) clashed with Ethiopian federal troops. The Tigray Defense Force (TDF) later withdrew from the area and called for dialogue in an attempt to reduce tensions. Reports indicated that casualties from this round of fighting were limited, with at least one person killed and another injured, but the clashes signaled a worrying breakdown in the relative calm that had existed in recent months.

By late January, the unrest spread to parts of western Tigray, particularly the contested areas of Hitsats and Tselemti, where Amhara militias have also been active. The renewed fighting prompted heightened security alerts and the suspension of flights in parts of the region. Humanitarian aid deliveries were disrupted as access routes became less secure, worsening already severe shortages faced by local communities that have struggled to recover from the earlier conflict.

Tigrayan authorities claim that the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) has been massing troops and equipment along the regional border, raising fears of a new military offensive. Meanwhile, humanitarian conditions remain dire. Aid access continues to be restricted, with communities such as those around Hitsats reporting urgent shortages of food and medical supplies. International aid reductions have compounded the crisis, leaving many residents increasingly vulnerable as uncertainty over the region’s security situation grows.