Ethiopia’s age-old fights over land between ethnic communities could be the reason behind the latest resurgence in violence between Tigray on one side and the national government forces and pro-government ethnic militia on the other.
The resurgence of fighting in Tigray and other parts north of the country is risking chances for a negotiated peace process.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allied rebel fighters have been saying that the five-month-old ceasefire had collapsed after Ethiopian government forces ambushed and bombed areas under their control.
Speaking anonymously to The EastAfrican, some UN officials in Addis Ababa explained that tensions between the warring sides had remained high as they bickered over who should mediate the conflict.
They also say that growing sentiments by ethnic groups bordering Tigray that the TPLF had grabbed and occupied their lands was fueling and caused the eruption of this latest violence.
“There are regions which, before the war, were annexed to Amhara region from Tigray. TPLF captured those regions but the Ethiopian and allied forces beat them back,” said one UN agency official in Ethiopia.
“Those regions are important corridors for Tigray because they see them as routes to the outside world via Sudan. TPLF thinks it can enhance negotiation chances by capturing these regions but there are emotional attachments to this land by the people in Amhara,” he explained, saying neighbouring Afar people have expressed similar sentiments against TPLF.
The parts bordering Amhara to the west of Tigray have in the past been known as “western Tigray,’’ even though maps often combine part of today’s Amhara and Tigray. The region is less mountainous than other northern parts, meaning they are not suitable for battle but can be a good conduit for supplies.
On Thursday, the Tigray Defence Force, the militia of TPLF and allied fighters, claimed they had been attacked from Lalibela in Amhara and several other towns in “western Tigray’’ such as Sheraro where it said the “massive offensive” will involve transporting personnel, equipment and shelling.
