Tigray Fighters Enter Afar Region, Raising Concerns of Conflict in Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s Afar region has accused forces from Tigray of entering its territory, seizing villages, and attacking civilians, violating the 2022 peace agreement that ended the war in northern Ethiopia. Between 2020 and 2022, Tigray witnessed a brutal two-year war between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopia’s federal army, resulting in a significant number of casualties. The African Union reported at least 600,000 deaths during this period. An official statement from Afar authorities revealed that TPLF fighters forcibly entered Afar territory, taking control of six villages and launching mortar attacks on civilians. The authorities did not disclose casualty figures.