More than a month after renewed clashes broke out in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, there are few signs of de-escalation. A new air-strike [9] hit Tigray's capital of Mekelle on Sept. 23, while the region's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), accused Eritrea [10] of launching a full-scale offensive in support of the Ethiopian government. There are reports [11] that Eritrea (which has a historical enmity against the TPLF) is mobilizing army reservists, with notices handed out in Asmara, the capital. The return to combat came after a five-month truce that saw back-channel meetings between Mekelle and Addis Ababa but no formal talks. The risk that fresh fighting poses to civilians was underscored by UN investigators, who submitted [12] their first report on the two-year conflict. The investigators accused Ethiopia's government of war crimes in Tigray, and of using starvation [13] as a counterinsurgency tool. Tigrayan forces were also accused of serious human rights abuses.
From The New Humanitarian [15], Sept. 23
