US Secretary Of State Marco Rubio Urges Ethiopia and Eritrea to De-escalate as Renewed Tigray Fighting Kills Civilians

NAIROBI — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for urgent de-escalation in the Horn of Africa on Wednesday after renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region drove civilians from their homes, shut down health facilities and drew what Washington said could not be tolerated: yet more conflict in one of Africa’s most battered corners.

Rubio spoke by phone with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday, urging dialogue under a peace deal agreed between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2018. He said the region could not tolerate more conflict, according to a statement from the State Department.

Renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region in recent weeks has effectively shattered a 2022 peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year war. Ethiopia has accused Eritrean troops of occupying parts of its territory, while Eritrea condemned Ethiopia for what it called a declaration of war.

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Human Rights Watch has received reports of civilians killed and injured by shelling in southern Tigray, Laetitia Bader, the group’s deputy Africa director, told the Associated Press in an interview on Tuesday. Bader said shelling had also forced some health facilities to close and called for independent monitoring, restored communications and safe humanitarian access.

How Did Fighting Reignite In Tigray And How Quickly Did It Escalate?

The current crisis is the product of weeks of rapidly deteriorating conditions in a region that had been held together by the Pretoria peace deal signed in November 2022, which ended what the United Nations described as one of the world’s deadliest conflicts since the Second World War. That deal never fully held, and its final collapse came with sudden speed.

Government-allied fighters entered Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, on 4 October after the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front announced its withdrawal. The TPLF statement added that the regional government would be “temporarily moved out of Mekelle and operate from somewhere else.”

Over the weekend, government-allied fighters had entered Mekelle, after which Ethiopia’s federal police fanned out across the regional capital calling on residents over loudspeakers to help establish a new administration following the rebels’ withdrawal. The Tigray Peace Force, which includes former members of the TPLF’s armed wing, imposed an overnight curfew. Tigray’s television and radio stations have been off the air since the TPLF withdrawal.

TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael said the fighting was a “continuation of the previous war” and that his troops would keep attacking and defending Tigray.

Last week, government-allied fighters entered Mekelle after the TPLF announced its withdrawal. Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights to Mekelle on Sunday after suspending all flights there for days.