On Wednesday, Ethiopia’s battle in Tigray’s northern province appeared to be intensifying after the prime minister announced the end of a government ceasefire and the neighboring Amhara region stated it would go on the attack against Tigrayan forces.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which has retaken much of its home area in the last three weeks after an abrupt reversal in an eight-month war, has vowed to retake western Tigray, a vast swath of agricultural land controlled by Amhara forces during the fight.
Last month, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed abruptly withdrew central government soldiers from most of Tigray, citing a unilateral ceasefire that the TPLF derided as a “joke” aimed to legitimize his forces’ withdrawal. Abiy claimed the truce had failed to deliver in his statement on Wednesday, signaling a shift in attitude.
The officials in Amhara, according to a spokeswoman for the regional government, are also rallying for a counter attack against the Tigray forces.
“The regional government has now transitioned from defensive to offensive,” Amhara spokesperson Gizachew Muluneh was quoted as saying by the region’s state-run Amhara Media Corporation. “Amhara militia and special forces have been systematically trying to defend but now our patience has run out and as of today we have opened an offensive attack.”
He did not reply to demands for additional information. A major regional political group, the National Movement of Amhara, called on irregular volunteer militias, known as Fano, to mobilize on Tuesday.
Western Tigray has historically been home to huge populations of Tigrayans and Amhara, and renewed violence between Ethiopia’s two largest ethnic groups over the territory could result in yet another wave of refugees from a conflict that has already displaced 2 million people.
When Abiy sent soldiers to combat the TPLF last year, Amhara militia fought alongside the central government, seizing control of a swath of land previously ruled by Tigrayans.
Since Abiy’s unexpected departure on June 28, the TPLF has steadily moved outwards, retaking the majority of Tigray. On Monday, it retook Alamata, the largest town in the south, and on Tuesday, it advanced across the Tekeze River’s deep canyon to retake Mai Tsebri from Amhara control.
Western Tigray, which the Amhara consider a regained portion of their ancestral homeland and have promised to preserve under their control, may face a tougher fight.