Ethiopia’s federal army has pledged to exercise restraint amid escalating fighting in the northern part of the country, as concerns increase that renewed clashes could develop into another civil war.
Army Chief of Staff Field Marshal Berhanu Jula said the military was responding to what he described as provocations from the Tigray front with “wisdom and restraint.”
He accused Eritrea of funding and supporting armed groups in an effort to weaken Ethiopia. Eritrea has rejected the allegations, amid concerns that Ethiopia may be seeking access to the Red Sea.
The latest violence has spread from Tigray into the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions after seven armed groups formed the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, which has pledged to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
Fighting has been reported around Abala in Afar, while clashes have also intensified in North Wollo, an Amhara zone bordering Tigray. The Ethiopian army said it killed 272 Tigrayan fighters and wounded 260 others during a counter-offensive.
The Tigray Army, however, accused the federal government of launching a “full-scale offensive” involving infantry, mechanised forces and drones. A member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) described the situation as a “full war.”
The renewed conflict is placing the 2022 Pretoria Agreement, which ended the two-year Tigray war, under severe strain. Although the agreement halted major hostilities, several political, territorial and security disputes remained unresolved.
The Ethiopian army said it preferred a strategy of “strategic calm” rather than a large-scale military confrontation, arguing that the Tigray front was losing popular support and that its leadership was divided.
Internet access was reportedly disrupted across northern Ethiopia on Friday, while the United Nations expressed concern over reports that drones were being used against civilians.
The renewed fighting has raised fears of a broader regional conflict involving armed groups from other parts of Ethiopia. It also represents one of the most serious challenges to the Pretoria peace agreement since it was signed.
At the UN General Assembly, Ethiopia’s president presented the country as a force for regional stability and accused unnamed external actors of interfering in its affairs.
Meanwhile, law professor Alemayehu Weldemariam of Indiana University told Al Jazeera that the federal government bears significant responsibility for the deterioration of the Pretoria Agreement, citing restrictions on fuel, public services and cash in Tigray, as well as delays in establishing the interim administration provided for under the agreement.
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