Conflict in Ethiopia

This item appears on page 5 of the August 2021 issue.

In Ethiopia, government forces and rebel groups have been fighting in the northern Tigray region since late 2020. In that time, thousands of people have been killed and millions of people, displaced.

In late June 2021, Tigrayan forces claimed to have captured a number of significant towns, something that Ethiopia denied. On June 23, an Ethiopian fighter jet bombed a market in the town of Togoga, near Tigray’s capital, Mekelle. The number of casualties was not known at press time, but a hospital in the town treated dozens of civilians for injuries.

On June 28, the Ethiopian government announced that a cease-fire agreement had been made with Tigrayan forces. The announcement came after reports that Tigrayyan militias had taken complete control of Mekelle.

According to a UN survey, more than 350,000 people in the Tigray region of Ethiopia are living under famine conditions, with at least five million people in the region in need of food aid.