Fighting breaks out in western Tigray as Ethiopia and TPLF trade blame

What the report says

Fighting has erupted in western Tigray, near Sheraro close to Ethiopia’s border with Sudan, in what Al Jazeera described as one of the most serious challenges yet to the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement. The reporting says Tigray’s regional authorities accused Ethiopian federal forces of launching an attack at dawn on Saturday, while Ethiopian minister Abraham Belay said clashes were real but blamed forces aligned with TPLF chairman Debretsion Gebremichael for starting them.

The exchange comes after months of worsening tensions between Addis Ababa and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which dominated Ethiopian politics for decades before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took power in 2018. Both sides have accused each other of failing to carry out parts of the peace deal, including questions tied to disarmament and the TPLF’s status. Tigrayan officials also said the region had faced a prolonged blockade and drone campaign, escalating the situation into open conflict.

Al Jazeera said analysts see the violence as the most serious incident since the agreement ended the war between federal forces and Tigrayan fighters. The article also noted that U.S. diplomacy has tried to preserve the deal, including visa restrictions announced in June against people described by Washington as TPLF hardliners. The renewed fighting raises the risk that a fragile ceasefire could unravel further, with broader implications for security in northern Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa.