As fighting intensified again in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin J. Massinga described the conflict as an unwinnable war. Massinga said additional sanctions could be imposed on leaders involved in the conflict if tensions escalate further.
Massinga criticized the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) leadership's decision to launch a large-scale offensive. The United States imposed sanctions on the TPLF earlier this year.
The TPLF is known as the political and military organization that took part in the two-year war in Tigray between 2020 and 2022 against Ethiopia's federal government. The war largely ended after a peace agreement was signed in 2022.
Criticizing the rejection of dialogue led by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and supported by the African Union, Massinga said that entering an unwinnable war would not benefit the Ethiopian people. The ambassador also called on other armed groups to refrain from taking a similar step.
Massinga also said that additional leaders seeking to steer Ethiopia down the wrong path could face sanctions. He said he believed political dialogue remained the best option.
Tensions in Tigray after the peace agreement
Concerns about a renewed war, in which many people were killed and displaced before the 2022 peace agreement, increased as clashes intensified in and around Tigray.
The Tigray administration said federal forces had attacked the region and that Tigray forces had responded in self-defense. The African Union on Wednesday called on the parties to exercise restraint and immediately stop escalating the conflict.
The African Union pointed to the Pretoria Agreement, signed in South Africa in November 2022, as the basis for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia. However, disagreements over the status of disputed areas, the return of displaced people and the disarmament of Tigray forces remained unresolved.
Tigray forces took control of the airports in Mekelle, the regional capital, as well as the cities of Axum and Shire. Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to all three cities after the security situation deteriorated.
Seven armed and political groups from different parts of Ethiopia announced last week that they had formed an alliance to coordinate their opposition to the federal government. The TPLF is among the groups in the alliance.
