African Union Urges Ethiopia Warring Parties To De-escalate

The African Union Commission has urged warring parties in Ethiopia to immediately de-escalate tensions and hold direct talks after forces from the northern Tigray region launched a major offensive against the federal government on Wednesday.

The latest fighting has disrupted a four-year peace agreement brokered by the African Union.

“The AUC Chairperson also calls upon all neighbouring countries of Ethiopia to refrain from actions that could contribute to further escalation and to actively support de-escalation, dialogue and confidence-building,” the commission said in a statement, without naming any countries.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the northern region, seized control of airports in Mekelle, Shire and Axum on Wednesday, according to TPLF Vice President Amanuel Assefa, who spoke to AFP.

Ethiopian Airlines said it had suspended flights to all three airports.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the Tigray regional government said its actions were in response to what it described as “intensive bombardments” by federal forces on Tuesday involving aircraft, drones and artillery.

The federal government in Addis Ababa had yet to comment on the clashes.

The TPLF ruled Ethiopia from 1991 until 2018, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power.

It fought a devastating civil war with the federal government between 2020 and 2022. The African Union estimates that about 600,000 people were killed during the conflict.

The Pretoria Peace Agreement ended the war and maintained an uneasy calm until clashes resumed in late 2025.

Fighting between the federal government and TPLF forces has continued since then, according to the sources cited.

Tigray has struggled to recover from the previous conflict, with around one million people still displaced and several provisions of the peace agreement yet to be implemented.

SOURCE: TRTAfrika