Truce Stops Fighting in Ethiopia – For Now

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia —(Map)

For almost 17 months, Ethiopia has been fighting a brutal war with rebels from Tigray, the country’s most northern state. Now, the two sides have called a truce to get food and other supplies to millions of people in Tigray, who need it badly.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is a political party and a military group.* For years, the TPLF ruled Ethiopia harshly. That made Tigrayans very unpopular with people from other ethnic groups. After Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018, he began taking power away from Tigrayans in the government.

In November, 2020, Ethiopia launched an attack on Tigray. Mr. Abiy said the attack was in response to the TPLF attacking an Ethiopian army base. Mr. Abiy said the fighting would be over quickly and wouldn’t grow into a larger conflict.

He was wrong. The conflict has grown, and gone on and on. The war has caused great fear in many parts of the country. There are many serious reports of horrible violence by soldiers from all sides. Some of the violence has been called “war crimes”.

In November, 2020, Ethiopia launched an attack on Tigray. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, shown above speaking in Ethiopia’s Parliament in November, 2020, said the fighting would be over quickly and wouldn’t grow into a larger conflict. He was wrong.

The war has made life in Ethiopia extremely hard. Thousands of civilians have been killed, around two million people have been forced from their homes, and hundreds of thousands of people are dangerously short of food.

In the past, the Ethiopian government was accused of blocking aid shipments to Tigray. Because of this, and a shortage of fuel, the area hasn’t had aid deliveries since December.

The United Nations (UN) says 40% of the people in Tigray face “an extreme lack of food”. Areas near Tigray, like Afar and Amhara, are also hurting. The UN says that over nine million people in Tigray, Afar, and Amhara need emergency food.

Afar and Amhara have been heavily involved in the conflict. The TPLF drove forces from Afar and Amhara out of Tigray, and took over some areas in these states. As part of the truce, the Ethiopian government wants the TPLF to remove its soldiers from these states. It’s not clear if the TPLF will agree.

Even with the truce, getting aid to Tigray will be difficult. To get supplies to Tigray over land will require trucks to pass through Afar. The government in Afar says it won’t let aid go through until the TPLF pulls its soldiers out.

The UN says that over nine million people in Tigray, Afar, and Amhara need emergency food. Above, people forced from their homes wait for a place in a refugee camp in Semera, Afar.

Even then, the aid might get stopped. The government in Afar doesn’t have strong control. Since many areas in Afar need help, some experts think people might block the trucks as they go through, no matter what the government says.

Still, the truce is the biggest break in the fighting in a long time. It has been welcomed by the governments of many outside countries. Some experts question whether the truce will work, but many people hope it will start a bigger move toward peace.

The first steps will be making sure the truce holds, and that the affected areas get the help they need. That could help build trust between the sides, and allow them to work toward a more long-term, peaceful solution.

* The military part of the TPLF is known as the Tigray Defense Force (TDF).