Fighting Resumes Between Ethiopian Government and Tigray Rebels Amid Fears of Renewed Civil War

Fighting between Ethiopia's central government and rebel forces in the Tigray region has intensified over the past several days, according to French broadcaster RFI, reviving fears that the conflict could escalate into a full-scale civil war.

RFI noted that a previous civil war between the two sides, which ran from 2020 to 2022, killed more than 600,000 people, making it one of the deadliest conflicts of the past several decades. The renewed clashes have raised concern among observers that a similarly devastating conflict could recur.

According to the report, the causes of the resumed fighting are largely internal, rooted in unresolved grievances and ethno-political rivalries that were never fully addressed by the peace process that ended the previous war.

The report also placed the conflict within a broader and complex regional context, though it did not specify which regional dynamics or external actors are seen as influencing the situation.

Ethiopia's Tigray conflict drew international concern for its humanitarian toll, including widespread displacement and reports of atrocities documented by international human rights organizations during the earlier phase of fighting. The current escalation raises the prospect that similar humanitarian consequences could follow if the violence continues to spread.