Tigray War
The Tigray War (; ; ) is an ongoing civil war that began on 3 November 2020 in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. The local Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) are fighting the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), the Ethiopian Federal Police, regional police, and gendarmerie forces of the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions with the involvement of the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF). All sides, particularly the ENDF, EDF, and TDF have committed war crimes during the conflict. Due to the onset of the war, a deep humanitarian crisis has developed. On 24 March 2022, the Ethiopian government declared an indefinite humanitarian  truce, in order to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid into Tigray. In 2019, to distance the country from ethnic federalism and ethnic nationalist politics, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed merged the ethnic and region-based constituent parties of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition and several opposition parties into his new Prosperity Party. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), a politically powerful entity that had dominated Ethiopian politics for 27 years as a repressive regime through a one-party dominant system, refused to join the new party. The TPLF then alleged that Abiy Ahmed became an  illegitimate ruler because the general elections scheduled for 29 August 2020 were postponed to 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The TPLF, led by its chairman Debretsion Gebremichael, went ahead with regional elections in Tigray in September 2020 in defiance of the federal government, which then declared the Tigray election illegal. Fighting between Tigray forces and the federal government began on 3 November 2020, when Tigrayan security forces attacked the ENDF Northern Command bases and headquarters in the Tigray Region. The ENDF counterattacked in Tigray, which Prime Minister Abiy described as "law enforcement operations". Federal allied forces captured Mekelle , the capital of the Tigray Region, on 28 November, after which Prime Minister Abiy declared the Tigray operation "over". The Tigray government stated in late November that it would continue fighting until the "invaders" are out, and on 28 June 2021 the Tigray Defense Forces retook Mekelle and advanced into the Amhara and Afar regions in July. In early November 2021, the TDF together with the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) took control of several towns on the highway south from Tigray Region towards Addis Ababa, and the TPLF stated that its was "considering marching on Addis Ababa". Together with seven  smaller rebel groups, the TPLF and OLA declared a coalition aiming to "dismantle Abiy's government by force or by negotiations, and then form a transitional authority." Mass extrajudicial killings of civilians took place during November and December 2020 in and around Adigrat, Hagere Selam, in the Hitsats refugee camp, and in Humera, Mai Kadra Debre Abbay, and Axum. At least 10,000 people have died, and war rape became a "daily" occurrence, with girls as young as 8, and women as old as 72, raped, often in front of their families. Peace and mediation proposals included an early November 2020  African Union (AU) mediation proposed by Debretsion and refused by Abiy; an AU trio of former African presidents who visited Ethiopia in late November 2020; an emergency Intergovernmental Authority on Development summit of East African heads of government and state that met in late 20 December 2020 in Djibouti; and peace proposals on 19 February 2021 by the Tigray regional government (led by TPLF) and on 20 February by the National Congress of Great Tigray (Baytona), Tigray Independence Party (TIP) and Salsay Weyane Tigray (SAWET). In July and August 2021, the ""A3+1"" mediation group, consisting of three African  countries, Kenya, Niger and Tunisia and one non-African country, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, called for an "Ethiopian-owned process" supported by peace resolution processes, especially those of the AU, in the spirit of "African solutions to African challenges". Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, talked to Abiy and Debretsion separately and stated on 8 November 2021 to the AU Peace and Security Council that both leaders agreed that "the differences opposing them are political and require political solution through dialogue." Background. Historical and political context. Following the end of the Ethiopian Civil War in 1991, Ethiopia became a  dominant-party state under the rule of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of four ethnically-based parties dominated by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). The founding and most influential member was the TPLF and the chairman was Meles Zenawi, who was the prime minister of Ethiopia until his death in 2012. He was succeeded by Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, the chairman of the Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM), a coalition member. On 15 February 2018, Prime Minister Hailemariam announced his resignation as both prime minister and chairman of the EPRDF , owing to a growing discontent within the public, fuelled by a reaction to 27 years of repression. On 28 March 2018, in a closed-door election to chair the EPRDF, executive committee members elected the Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organisation (OPDO) chairman Abiy Ahmed. On 2 April 2018, Ethiopian parliament elected Abiy Ahmed as prime minister. After losing the election and being ousted from the federal government, TPLF officials relocated to the Tigray Region and continued administering the region for three years frequently clashing with the federal government. In one instance, the Tigray regional government was reported to have defied the  federal government and refused to allow Ethiopian Federal Police to arrest Getachew Assefa, the former chief of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) of Ethiopia and executive member of the TPLF. On 1 December 2019, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed merged the ethnic and region-based parties of the EPRDF (which had governed Ethiopia for 28 years) and several opposition parties into his new Prosperity Party. The TPLF, which had dominated Ethiopian politics, refused to join the new party. The TPLF used to be part of the Ethiopian governing coalition until its 2019 refusal to merge into the Prosperity Party . In 2020, tensions between the federal government and Tigray regional government escalated in the months before the November Tigray military intervention. In March 2020, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) delayed the general elections scheduled for 29 August 2020 to an undetermined date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The terms of federal and regional lawmarkers, as well as the executive branch, were then extended by federal parliament beyond the October 2020 constitutional mandates. The TPLF rejected the measures, arguing that they were unconstitutional and held its own regional election on 9 September 2020, in defiance of the federal government . Several journalists were barred by the federal government (at Addis Ababa airport) from travelling to cover Tigray's regional election. Abiy's government considered the Tigray election to be illegal and responded by slashing federal funding to the region, a decision the TPLF described as "tantamount to declaration of war". In late September 2020, the TPLF stated that the constitutional term limit of the House of Federation, the House of Peoples' Representatives (HoPR), the prime minister, and the Council of Ministers was 5 October 2020 and that for this reason, it would consider "the incumbent" constitutionally illegitimate after 5 October . The TPLF proposed replacing the government with a technocratic caretaker government as detailed in a plan posted on Facebook by the Coalition of Ethiopian Federalist Forces. The warming of relations between Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, who is poorly regarded in Tigray, was also considered to have fuelled the tension. Ethiopian elite units were transported to Gherghera base near Asmara "as part of a security pact" between Abiy and Isaias in a plan to "strike out of existence the TPLF", according to former Eritrean Minister of Defence, Mesfin Hagos. In late October 2020, the Ethiopian Reconciliation Commission stated  that it was trying to mediate between the federal and regional governments and the TPLF, but that pre-conditions set by all sides were blocking progress. Opponents of the Tigray People's Liberation Front have described it as a heavily armed ethnic nationalist paramilitary insurgency, terrorist organization, political party, and former ruling authoritarian regime of Ethiopia. As tension continued to grow, a brigadier general appointed by Abiy in October 2020 was prevented by the Tigray government from taking up his military post. The same day before the Tigray forces Northern Command attacks, the federal parliament of Ethiopia had suggested designating  the TPLF as a terrorist organization. Constitutional context. The 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia states in Article 39.1, "Every Nation, Nationality, and People in Ethiopia has an unconditional right to self-determination, including the right to secession." Article 62.9 grants the House of Federation the right to "order Federal intervention if any State [government], in violation of [the] Constitution, endangers the constitutional order." Course of the conflict. Early fighting. Just before midnight on 3 November 2020, Tigray Special Forces and allied local militia attacked the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) Northern Command headquarters in Mekelle, the Fifth Battalion barracks in Dansha , and other Northern Command bases. Several people were killed and the TPLF claimed the attack was carried out in self-defence or preemptive self-defense. In retaliation, an Ethiopian offensive was launched on 4 November, which was accompanied by the declaration of a state of emergency, the creation of the State of Emergency Inquiry Board and a shutdown of government services in the Tigray Region. During the subsequent days, skirmishes continued and the Ethiopian federal parliament declared the creation of an interim government for Tigray. Ethiopian offensives in the north were accompanied with airstrikes and several towns and cities were  retaken. On the night of 9 to 10 November 2020, 600 civilians, mostly Amharas and Welkait, were killed in a massacre in the town of Mai Kadra with machetes and knives used by local militias and police loyal to the TPLF, according to preliminary investigations by Amnesty International and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. While refugees interviewed by the "Financial Times" and Reuters said it was the Amhara militia who were the perpetrators and Tigrayans who were the victims. Two days later, refugees interviewed by the "Daily Telegraph", "The Guardian" and "The New York Times" stated that Amhara militias, including  Fano, and the ENDF carried out beatings and a massacre of 20 Tigrayans in Humera. Humera was shelled from the direction of the Eritrean–Ethiopian border for two days around 9–11 November. The ENDF gained control of Humera on 12 November. Offensives of joint ENDF-Amhara Region-Eritrean forces into Tigray were facilitated by the intervention of "Pterosaurus" drones, launched by the United Arab Emirates from its base in Assab, Eritrea. The Chinese-made, armed drones bombed Tigrayan artillery and weapons depots. In the late hours of 13 November 2020, Tigray forces fired a rocket towards the airports of Bahir  Dar and Gondar in the Amhara Region. On 14 November, Tigray forces launched rockets at the Eritrean capital of Asmara, but the missiles missed. The Tigray government claimed these locations contained military terminals that served as bases to carry out airstrikes. Mekelle offensive. On 17 November 2020, the Ethiopian government accused the TPLF of blowing up four main bridges leading to Mekelle. The Tigray government denied the accusations. From 17 to 19 November, Ethiopian forces captured the Raya district and the towns of Shire, Alamata, Adwa, and Axum. In Raya there were an estimated 760 casualties from both forces. While  fighting between Tigray and Ethiopia continued in Zalambessa and Ethiopian forces starting moving towards Adigrat. Fighting between Tigray and Eritrea took place in Adi Quala, Zalembesa, Taruna, Ali Tina, Wadqomdi, and Bademe. On 23 November, Ethiopian forces reached the regional capital of Mekelle and encircled it. A military spokesperson for Ethiopia, Colonel Dejene Tsegaye, announced that Mekelle would be shelled, and told Tigray civilians to flee the city because Ethiopian forces would show no mercy. Many residents of Mekelle had already left the city due to airstrikes in and around the city, but many others still remained in the city . Even though TPLF leaders, Tigray Special Forces, and militia forces had already left the city, the Ethiopian forces still began their direct assault on Mekelle on the morning of 28 November and started heavy shelling of the city. By the evening, Prime Minister Abiy declared Ethiopian forces had taken full control of the city. In total 27 civilians were killed and 100 others were injured. The Tigray government vowed to continue fighting. Two days later Prime Minister Abiy claimed no civilians were killed. Tigray forces retreat and guerrilla warfare. After Ethiopian federal forces and their allies captured Mekelle and other  major cities, forces loyal to the Tigray government began to regroup into mountainous areas of the region and reorganized under the banner of the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF). This retreat was partially caused by the fact that a large portion of the TDF's artillery had been destroyed by air strikes. The TDF also began to dig into their positions in rural Tigray. Afterwards the TDF then started a guerrilla campaign against Ethiopian-allied forces from the mountains. By mid-December, fighting had reached Hagere Selam, Samre, Dogu’a, Kolla Tembien, May Tsemre and localities around Maychew. During this time, a  violently enforced curfew was set up by Ethiopian forces along with Eritrean soldiers. According to the Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA), in Wukro over 200 people were killed and the town was left deserted. The Ethiopian government denied involvement in the killing. The early gains made by the ENDF and Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) against the Tigray forces did not lead to a decisive defeat of the re-organized and invigorated TDF. In late January 2021, the TDF had rallied and were intensifying their insurgency against Ethiopian forces despite the initial setbacks and heavy losses. During this time fighting  was reported to have taken place around Mekelle, and the ENDF had retreated from rural positions towards the city. Several of these clashes took place in mid-February at Samre, a small town south-west of Mekelle. Thousands of Ethiopian troops supported by artillery, tanks, and airstrikes fought dug-in forces loyal to the Tigray regional government. "The Guardian" reported in late April 2021 that there was renewed fighting in the area. In April 2021, the TDF was in control of the rural areas of central and southern Tigray along with parts of eastern and south-eastern Tigray, while the  ENDF was in control of the main roads and urban areas. Amhara and Eritrean forces also controlled parts of Tigray in the west and north, respectively. All sides wished to secure a military victory, but they lacked the ability to do so in the near term and so they began to prepare for a prolonged conflict. The Tigray Defense Forces were engaged in a war of attrition with popular support from the people of Tigray, who were infuriated by war crimes committed by Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers and worried about a potential decrease in the region's autonomy. This resulted  in the TDF growing in strength and the concept of secession from Ethiopia gaining popularity in Tigray, a stance which was considered likely to inflame Amhara-Tigray territorial disputes. According to refugees, the EDF killed 80–150 people in Idaga Hamus on 30 November, part of a larger series of extrajudicial killings known as the Adigrat massacres. On 26 December 2020, it was reported by EEPA that Eritrea had started to withdraw some of its troops from Tigray. On 9 January 2021, Ethiopian TV reported that 300 refugees in Hitsats camp were executed by the TPLF. According to refugees, pro-TPLF  forces used Hitsats as a base for several weeks in November 2020, killing several refugees who wanted to leave the camp to get food and, in one incident, killed nine young Eritrean men in revenge for having lost a battle against the EDF. On 18 February 2021, unidentified militiamen ambushed a passenger bus in Adi Mesino, killing six and injuring 10. On 20 February, Yemane Niguse, a prominent Tigrayan dissident was assassinated in his birth town of Hewane by unknown assailants. The federal Ethiopian authorities accused the TPLF of responsibility for the assassination. On 1 April 2021, an undated video  surfaced that purported to show Ethiopian troops executing 11 unarmed men before disposing of their bodies near Mahibere Dego. On 6 May 2021, Ethiopia's House of Peoples’ Representatives declared the TPLF as a terrorist organization. On 21 May, Ethiopia's military prosecutors convicted 3 soldiers of rape and pressed charges against over 50 others suspected of killing civilians in Tigray or committing rape and other forms of sexual violence. The statement also confirmed reports of two massacres in Tigray, stating that 229 civilians were killed in the town of Mai Kadra at the beginning of November, and accusing troops  from Eritrea of killing 110 civilians in the city of Axum on 27 and 28 November. Eritrean occupation of the northeast. On 28 and 29 November 2020, witnesses and survivors, including refugees in Sudan, reported that the Eritrean Defence Forces carried out the Axum massacre of about 720 to 800 civilians. The Eritrean government stated that it was angered by Amnesty International's report on the massacre, that the report was "fallacious" and that the Eritrean government had not been contacted by Amnesty International prior to publication. The Eritrean government also said: "It must be underscored that Amnesty made absolutely  no attempt to seek any information from Eritrea. Moreover, the fabricated Axum accusation has mutated over the last month from a 'massacre of Orthodox Christians at St. Mary's Church' to 'house-to-house' killing of civilians." The situation on the ground has changed drastically following a guerilla warfare campaign by the TDF and in February 2021, the UN chief coordinator of humanitarian efforts Mark Lowcock said that up to 40% of Tigray was not controlled by Ethiopian troops. He said that much of that area was under the control of Eritrean soldiers pursuing their own objectives independent of Ethiopian  command. Refugees told "Vice World News" that Eritrea was in control of parts of the northern Maekelay Zone and most likely extending beyond the zone. Different refugees told VICE that not only did Eritreans cross into border areas, but they also took control of the area. One refugee from Maekelay told them "Since the war started, we haven't seen a single Ethiopian soldier. Only Eritreans, they occupy the rural areas." On 16 June 2021, the Ethiopian ambassador to the UN stated that Eritrean troops in Tigray were to "definitely leave soon". Tigrayan counter-offensive. Retaking of Mekelle. On 22  June 2021, an Ethiopian military cargo plane was shot down over Samre, marking a turn of the war in the TDF's favor. On 28 June 2021, the Tigray Defense Forces retook the city of Mekelle. People celebrated in the streets of Mekelle as the TDF took the city. Ethiopian soldiers, police and administrators were seen leaving, ahead of the occupation by the TDF. Shortly after hearing news of the TDF advance, the Ethiopian government declared an immediate unilateral ceasefire across the Tigray Region. BBC News reporter Vivienne Nunis characterised the ceasefire as an attempt by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed  to save face, the government having little other option. On 29 June 2021, Tigrayan forces vowed to continue their offensive and drive into Eritrea or the Amhara Region if necessary and said that Mekelle was 100% under the control of Tigrayan forces. On 30 June 2021, the TDF had entered the town of Shire, some northwest of Mekelle, after it had been abandoned by Eritrean troops. The International Crisis Group claimed that the TDF now controlled most of the Tigray region. The Ethiopian government claimed, on 30 June, that it could re-enter Mekelle in less than three weeks if  it wanted to. In the same announcement, the Ethiopian government stated that all Eritrean forces had withdrawn from the region, though this was not confirmed by the Eritrean government. Tigray push in Afar and Amhara. On 6 July 2021, the Tigrayan government mobilised to retake western Tigray from Amhara forces. A TDF offensive starting on 12 July resulted in Tigrayan forces capturing southern Tigray, including the towns of Alamata and Korem. The TDF subsequently crossed the Tekezé River and advanced westward, capturing the town of Mai Tsebri in the Tselemti district and prompting Amhara officials to call on its militias  to arm themselves and mobilise. Following the TDF's rapid advances, Abiy threatened to resume war with Tigray and crush the rebels, raising fears of genocide. He called on other regions of Ethiopia to mobilise their special forces. The Oromia, Sidama, and SNNPR regions answered the call and mobilised. In response the TDF invaded the Afar Region to its east, prompting the Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambela, Harari and Somali regions to join the war. Heavy fighting in western Afar displaced over 54,000 people and resulted in the TDF reportedly capturing three districts in the region. While the Tigray government claimed it  only entered Afar to target federal forces, experts believe their aim was to sever a portion of National Highway A1, a vital trade route for landlocked Ethiopia, linking the capital of Addis Ababa to the Port of Djibouti, from which most of its petroleum products are imported. Following the TDF's counter-attack on two districts of his region, the Amhara regional President, Agegnehu Teshager, called for the total mobilisation of all people of all ages who are armed in the region to fight against the Tigrayans. A similar call was made in Afar. Meanwhile, the city of Weldiya was  captured by the TDF on 12 August 2021. On 4 August 2021, some Agew people declared themselves independent from the Amhara Region and formed the Agew Liberation Front (ALF). The next day, Lalibela was reported to have been seized by Tigrayan forces. On 9 August, UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore expressed concern about reports that over 200 people, including 100 children, had been killed in attacks on displaced families sheltering at a health facility and a school in the Afar Region. On 11 August, the TDF and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) announced an alliance to overthrow Abiy Ahmed's  government, saying they were also in talks with other rebel groups to establish a "grand coalition". With the TDF advancing deeper into Amhara, various cities across the region began enforcing curfews. On 9 September 2021, the Ethiopian government claimed Tigrayan forces had been "routed" and heavily defeated in the Afar Region. Tigrayan spokesperson Getachew Reda said its forces had seen no fighting in Afar and had redeployed to the adjoining Amhara Region. On 30 September, amid UN concerns about a blockade of aid deliveries to Tigray, the Ethiopian government expelled 7 top UN officials, reportedly because of "meddling" in its  internal affairs, giving the officials 72 hours to leave the country. Federal government allied offensive. On 8 October 2021, Tigrayan spokesperson Getachew Reda said an intensive air campaign by the Ethiopian Air Force began against TDF positions in the North Wollo and North Gondar zones of the Amhara Region, mostly around the towns of Wegeltena, Wurgessa and Haro. He also stated there was a "massive build up of forces on all fronts". The federal government and Amhara regional government did not respond to the claim. On 11 October, Ethiopian-allied forces launched coordinated ground attacks "on all fronts" against the  TDF with combined arms including tanks, helicopters, heavy artillery, warplanes, and drones according to the Tigrayan government. General Tsadkan Gebretensae, member of the central command of the TDF said both sides had been preparing for the offensive for months, and predicted that battle would be "decisive". The new offensive effectively ended the unilateral ceasefire declared by the federal government in June and further deepened fears of the developing famine in Tigray, with a federal government blockade still preventing most aid from arriving. Meanwhile, the continued war prompted regional leaders, including Kenyan President Kenyatta, to voice their concerns and urge peace , while US Secretary of State Blinken met with the AU envoy to Ethiopia, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, to discuss the crisis. On 13 October, Getachew claimed fighting continued intensifying with "staggering" casualties. He also claimed clashes were taking place near Weldiya and that fighting had resumed in Afar, within the Awra and Chifra districts near the Amhara border. A humanitarian worker citing witnesses said the EDF were fighting the TDF in Berhale, a town in Afar northeast of Mekelle. TDF-OLA joint offensive. Fall of Dessie and Kombolcha. On 30 October, it was reported that Dessie had fallen to  the TDF. However, control over the city was not immediately certain, with the federal government denying its capture and reports of fierce fighting coming from the town. On 31 October, the TDF claimed to have captured Kombolcha, a town east of Dessie, and the Ethiopian government accused the TDF of massacring over 100 youths in the town. On the same day, the Amhara regional government declared a state of emergency, which included a region-wide curfew. South of Kombolcha, the OLA claimed to have seized control over Kemise on the A2 Highway which links Mekelle to the Ethiopian capital of  Addis Ababa, and later declared they were considering an offensive towards the capital. The TDF claimed they also linked up with the OLA. Meanwhile, it was reported that a new roundup of ethnic Tigrayans had occurred in Addis Ababa. State of emergency and rebel coalition. On 2 November 2021, as the counter-offensive came deeper into federal-controlled territory, the Ethiopian government declared a six-month state of emergency, which envisages the possibility to arrest and detain critics of the government without a court warrant, impose curfews, institute censorship, restrict freedom of movement as well as to call any adult  person to fight in the war, for fear of serving from three to ten years in prison. Authorities in Addis Ababa also told residents to register their weapons in order to fend off the anticipated offensive. Four other regional governments also made a call to arms. On 5 November, the TPLF, OLA and other rebel groups declared the creation of a nine-group coalition, called the United Front of Ethiopian Federalist and Confederalist Forces. On 22 November, Prime Minister Abiy stated that he will be leading the fight against the rebels from the battlefront after the TDF claimed to have  captured Shewa Robit, saying; "We are now in the final stages of saving Ethiopia". Many countries also urged citizens to leave the country. Federal Government counter-offensive. Recapture of Dessie and Kombolcha. From 26 November to 6 December 2021, Ethiopian allied forces recaptured several towns in the Amhara and Afar regions including Lalibela and Shewa Robit, according to the Ethiopian government. On 6 December 2021, government forces claimed to have recaptured the strategic cities of Dessie and Kombolcha. This was later confirmed by TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda, however, he claimed this was a strategic withdrawal which was "part of their  plan." On 12 December 2021, Reuters reported that forces loyal to the TPLF had recaptured the town of Lalibela less than two weeks after government forces and their allies had recaptured control of the town for themselves. The ENDF took control of the town again following the exit of Tigrayan Forces back to Tigray. On 20 December 2021, the TDF requested a ceasefire. Following the ceasefire request, the ENDF stated that it would not advance any deeper into the Tigray region. On 26 January 2022, the Ethiopian council of ministers proposed to end the state of emergency. On 24 March  2022, the Ethiopian government declared an indefinite humanitarian truce, in order to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid into Tigray. Spillover. Spillover into Sudan. By 28 November 2020, thousands of people were believed to have been killed in the conflict and around 44,000 fled to Sudan. On 29 November, claims that South Sudan was giving safe haven to Debretsion led to the Ethiopian ambassador to South Sudan abruptly returning to Ethiopia, and South Sudanese diplomats in Ethiopia allegedly being given 72 hours to leave the country. On 15 December 2020, four Sudanese soldiers were killed, and 27 others were injured  near the Ethiopia–Sudan border, in what Sudan claimed to be an ambush by Ethiopian forces and militias. A Sudanese soldier later claimed that Ethiopian forces had launched artillery attacks on them and intruded into the Jebel al-Teyyour area, located 7 kilometres inside Sudan. Other soldiers claimed that the attackers were Amhara Region militias. Ethiopia claimed the clashes were Ethiopia trying to stop a Sudanese militia which had tried to cross into Ethiopian territory and seize farmlands. In response to the killings, Sudan started to build up its military along the border with Ethiopia. Military sources claimed that Sudan  had recaptured Jebel al-Teyyour. On 19 December, Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces were reported to have retaken areas previously taken by Ethiopia and Amhara Region militias in Al Qadarif, Sudan. Spillover in Somalia. On 7 December heavy fighting broke out between African Union Mission to Somalia and Ethiopian troops in Halgan District, Somalia, when Ethiopian troops tried to disarm Tigrayan troops within their ranks. In total 21 Ethiopian soldiers of Tigrayan origin and 20 other Ethiopian soldiers were killed in the internal military mutiny. Alleged Somali involvement. Since the outbreak of the Tigray War, there have been multiple  unconfirmed reports of Somali troops being sent from a secret training base in Eritrea run by the National Intelligence and Security Agency to fight against the newly formed TDF. The first of these reports came in January 2021 from unverified social media accounts. The same month Somalia's information minister, Osman Abukar Dubbe, confirmed Somali soldiers were training in Eritrea but denied any of these troops had been sent to Tigray. According to the Voice of America, several sources with direct knowledge of the program, including three Somali officials and a foreign diplomat, confirmed to them that Somali troops have  been training in neighbouring Eritrea. In January 2022, "The Globe and Mail" reported evidence of Somali troops were involved and they had committed atrocities in Tigray. The report noted that before the war began, Somali forces under the leadership of the Eritrean Army had been stationed in trenches along the border. A small group of parents also protested in Mogadishu about what they said was the government’s mismanagement of the issue. They demanded information on their loved ones who they say they haven't seen in a year. The head of Somalia's parliamentary committee on foreign affairs asked  the Somali president to investigate claims by family members that their sons had gone off to fight in Ethiopia and are now missing. On 19 January 2021, the Somali government denied the claim that Somali troops had trained in Eritrea and then deployed in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Former head of the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency, Abdilsalan Guld, has claimed that Somali troops were sent to Tigray. Guld stated that the soldiers, aged from 20 to 30 years old, were secretly taken from Mogadishu and sent to Asmara for military training. Guld stated that 370 of the  Somali troops trained by Eritrea were killed in Tigray, and hundreds of others were wounded. War crimes. All sides in the conflict have been accused of violating international human rights with evidence of unlawful killings, torture and sexual violence committed by both sides. Ethnic cleansing / genocide. Many sources have accused the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments of engaging in crimes against humanity via ethnic cleansing of Tigrayans. The Ethiopian and Eritrean governments have also been accused of genocide. The non-profit Genocide Watch classified the events as step 9 of genocide, eradication, as well as step 10, denial. According to the  EU's special envoy to Ethiopia, Pekka Haavisto, senior members of the Ethiopian government called for "wip[ing] out" all Tigrayans for 100 years. The Ethiopian Government denied the allegations. "Genocide Watch" issued another emergency alert on 20 November 2021, stating that "both sides are committing genocide", referring to detentions of thousands of people based on Oromo or Tigrayan ethnic identity, and arguing that "Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's hate speech and calls for war" together with attacks by the ENDF and TPLF put Ethiopia into stages 4 (dehumanization), 6 (polarization), 8 (persecution), and 9 (extermination) of the ten stages of  genocide. In early September 2021, the Tigray Defense Forces were accused of extrajudicially killing 120–200 villagers in Chenna Teklehaymanot and 600 residents of Kobo district in the Amhara Region. In both incidents, residents said that Tigrayan forces had killed villagers who had resisted looting. On 9 December 2021, Human Rights Watch published a report in which residents described witnessing Tigrayan forces summarily execute dozens of civilians in the village of Chenna and the town of Kobo between August 31 and September 9, 2021. Rape as weapon of war. Use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war is  also widespread and used by both the Ethiopian government and the Tigray rebels. Often, soldiers and militias subjected Tigrayan women and girls, including pregnant women and young girls, to rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, sexual mutilation and other forms of sexual torture. Such sexual violence is often accompanies with other type of physical and mental abuse. With physical abuses included burning their victims with hot iron or cigarettes, forcing metal rods or nails into their victim's genitals, etc. Mental abuses including raping their victim in front of their family members, forcing their victims to rape their family members, calling  their victims by derogatory words and ethnic slurs, etc. After being subjected to sexual violence, many women becomes infected with STIs like AIDS, and its often hard for them to find treatments due to the collapse of medical infrastructure during war and senses of shame. As of August 2021, there are 512 to 514 rape victims registered with Ethiopian hospitals, however, the real number is probably much larger than that and can be as large as 26 thousand by some estimations. Many source believe the sexual violence in Tigray is intentionally committed by governments as a weapon of war with  many strategic purposes, including to destroying the morale of the enemy, to genocide and genetically cleanse certain populations, and to spread STIs as a form of biological warfare. Investigation. Investigations into the war crimes include the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) joint investigation, which published its findings on 3 November 2021, and the ACHPR Tigray investigation by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), expected to publish its findings by the end of 2021. Humanitarian crisis. Humanitarian aid. According to the United Nations (UN), some 2.3  million children have been cut off from desperately needed aid and humanitarian assistance. Since the start of the conflict, the Ethiopian federal government has strictly controlled access to the Tigray Region, and the UN has said it is frustrated that talks with the Ethiopian government had not yet secured adequate humanitarian access for "food, including ready-to-use therapeutic food for the treatment of child malnutrition, medicines, water, fuel, and other essentials that are running low" said UNICEF. By 13 March 2021, the UN and its partners reached about 0.9 million people with complete food baskets, and 0.7 million people  with clean water. Despite the progress made, many are still hard to reach due to ongoing fighting. About 4.5 million people of are still in need of aid and about 1 million of that are not in accessible areas due to ongoing fighting. Since the start of the conflict, there has been limited access to clean water due to hygiene and sanitation services largely being disrupted across Tigray. The Tigray Regional Water Bureau reported that out of 36 villages it assessed, only 4 had partially functioning water sources. Along with that, an estimated 250 motorized water pumping systems have been  out of order, and the status of 11,000 hand pumps in rural areas was unknown. Because of this, there has been a heightened risk of outbreaks of water-borne diseases and COVID-19. In February 2021, GOAL Ethiopia, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), MCMDO, MSF-Spain, and World Vision, found that nearly one in seven children in 16 woredas and town administrations across Tigray were acutely malnourished. While in Enderta, Abi Adi and Shire, GOAL and IRC reported that 16.6% of children screened had acute malnutrition with 3.5% suffering from severe acute malnutrition. According to the UN, out of more than  260 health centres in Tigray before the war, only 31 are fully functional, while 7 are partially functional. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), all of the functioning hospitals and health centres in Tigray had a lack of medical supplies, drugs, and equipment. UN partners reported continued looting of health facilities. Only 16% of the health facilities had vaccination services and only 17% had maternal services (antenatal care, birth delivery, etc.). On 31 August 2021, USAID's mission director in Ethiopia, Sean Jones said: "We do have proof that several of our warehouses have been looted and completely emptied  in the areas, particularly in Amhara, where TPLF soldiers have gone into, I do believe that the TPLF has been very opportunistic," in a televised interview with state broadcaster EBC in Addis Ababa. All parties to the conflict have been accused by USAID of looting aid shipments. Internal displacement and forced displacement. In November 2020, the Amhara Region Special Force and Amhara militias loyal to the Amhara regional government took control of the western zone of Tigray in order to settle a decades-old land dispute. They claim the area was taken from them by force in 1992 after TPLF  forces overthrew the communist PDRE government and divided the country into ethnic regional states. They have also claimed the woredas (districts) of Welkait, Tegede, Kafta Humera, Tselemti, and Raya to be theirs. Since then, the area has been under the "de facto" control of Amhara regional authorities. Their control has been marked by reports of ethnically motivated violence and forced displacement. By February 2021, about 45,000 civilians had been forced to leave the zone due to extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, and the disappearances of people, especially young men. One refugee interviewed by Reuters said that if they didn't leave  when they did, they would have been killed by Amhara forces. 41 other refugees interviewed have also described attacks, looting, and threats by Amhara forces. In March 2021, Mulu Nega, then leader of the federal-government-appointed Transitional Government of Tigray, stated that Amhara "de facto" administrators of Western Tigray used violence against ethnic Tigrayans and forcibly displaced them. Yabsira Eshetie, the administrator of the area, denied the claims. The Amhara government also denied the reports of forced displacement and asked the Ethiopian government to modify the border between the Amhara and Tigray regions. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken  stated that there had been acts of ethnic cleansing in Tigray. Possible COVID-19 outbreaks were feared as refugees fleeing the Tigray conflict sheltered in crowded camps. In November 2020, the UN warned of "very critical" supply shortages for the nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees who, prior to the war, were registered in four camps in Tigray region. Later that same month, the UN reported that people in Tigray were fleeing Mekelle. The federal government had warned of "no mercy" if Tigray forces and residents remained intermingled. As of December 2020, the UN estimated more than one million people had been internally  displaced by the fighting. More than 50,000 people have fled to Sudan due to the conflict. Communications and travel links were still blocked, and Human Rights Watch warned that "actions that deliberately impede relief supplies" would violate international humanitarian law. There were "deeply distressing reports of sexual and gender-based violence, extrajudicial killings, [and the] widespread destruction and looting of public and private property by all parties" according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. More than 136 cases of rape have also been reported in hospitals in Mekelle, Ayder, Adigrat and Wukro in eastern Tigray between December 2020  and January 2021, with indications that there are many more such unreported cases. As of 2 February 2021, 20,000 of the Eritrean refugees in Tigray, mostly from the Hitsats and Shimelba camps, remained unaccounted for, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. By March, Shire Inda Selassie had become a major centre for internally displaced people and humanitarian aid distribution. In September 2021, the humanitarian situation continued to worsen in Tigray, Afar and Amhara Regions both due to the armed conflict itself and due to bureaucratic obstruction. Two thousand displaced people returned to the Fantí Rasu zone in  Afar Region after the ENDF and Afar Special Forces regained control and OCHA partner organisations' access to improved. Attacks on humanitarian workers. There have been several reported attacks on humanitarian workers, including attacks by Ethiopian government soldiers. The Danish Refugee Council and the International Rescue Committee reported killings of their staff in early December 2020. Although the Ethiopian federal government claimed to have given "full and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to operate in all parts of the region," many humanitarian agencies reported having been repulsed at army checkpoints and blocked from entry to various regions. There were accusations by  US officials that armed forces were specifically singling out humanitarian workers for an attack. On 23 March 2021, a driver from "Médecins Sans Frontières" was beaten by Ethiopian soldiers after witnessing extrajudicial killings by Ethiopian government soldiers. Following the 23 June bombing of Togoga, there were reports of Ethiopian government soldiers firing on ambulances to prevent them from reaching the injured. On 25 June 2021, three Médecins Sans Frontières workers were found murdered near their car in Tigray. Internet and media. Role of online social networks. Claire Wilmot, writing in "The Washington Post", found that a significant number of new , single-issue Twitter accounts were opened in the immediate aftermath of the 4 November attacks. Most appeared to be authentic accounts from people seeking to raise international awareness of the conflict in the midst of a communications blackout in Tigray. The Ethiopian government cited disinformation and hate speech to justify communications blackouts. Researchers suggested that reducing access to information could help to create contexts where misinformation can thrive because it reduces the ability to verify information. The Ethiopian government tried to control the information environment by positioning itself as the sole provider of reliable information. In February, pro-government groups  called on their supporters in Ethiopia and the diaspora to combat what they called "TPLF fake news" online. Pro-government groups used tactics similar to those of pro-Tigray groups to push their narrative of the conflict, though as of 5 February, pro-government campaigns had produced fewer Tweets overall. BBC News showed examples of manipulated photos which misleadingly endorsed both the federal Ethiopian government and the TPLF. Researchers found that groups use tactics such as "copy and paste" campaigns hosted on websites, which include instructions for opening new accounts, copying and pasting pre-written tweets, and tagging influencers. Both  campaigns produced disinformation and misinformation, though the majority of content produced was activist in nature. Wilmot suggested that the lines between authentic political activity and deliberate manipulation of online content during the conflict were increasingly blurred. Media. In November 2021, the Ethiopian Media Authority (EMA) threatened to cancel the media licences of BBC News, Reuters, CNN and Associated Press, accusing the news organisations of having "consistently disseminated news that sowed seeds of animosity among people and compromised the sovereignty of the country." The EMA cited "reporting the Law enforcement operation as a genocidal campaign" as an example of misleading information  aiming to "undermin[e] the [federal] government's efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region". Ethnic profiling of Tigrayans. Ethnic profiling against Tigrayans occurred during the Tigray War, with Ethiopians of Tigrayan ethnicity being put on indefinite leave from Ethiopian Airlines or refused permission to board, prevented from overseas travel, and an "order of identifying ethnic Tigrayans from all government agencies and NGOs" being used by federal police to request a list of ethnic Tigrayans from an office of the World Food Programme. Tigrayans' houses were arbitrarily searched and Tigrayans' bank accounts suspended. During the conflict, many Tigrayans  were profiled both professionally and socially, with many fired or called names when out in public as a result of the conflict, such as Tigrayan military members having their weapons confiscated or dismissed from duty. A hotspot for this form of profiling took place in Addis Ababa, including disappearances of major Ethiopian officials and arrests of Tigrayans on the grounds that they supported the TPLF, which was designated as a terrorist organisation in May 2021 by Ethiopian parliament. Ethnic Tigrayan members of Ethiopian components of United Nations peacekeeping missions were disarmed and some forcibly flown back to Ethiopia, at the  risk of torture or execution, according to United Nations officials. The State of Emergency Taskforce stated that the Tigrayan peacekeepers were returned to Ethiopia because of "infiltration of TPLF elements in various entities". On 1 November 2021, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stated that "we should closely follow those who work for the enemy and live amongst us", as reports of a new roundup of ethnic Tigrayans came out of Addis Ababa. Peace process. Several proposals for peace negotiations and mediation were made involving some of the main groups involved in the war. Around 9 November 2020, Debretsion asked the African  Union (AU) to stop the war and requested peace negotiations; Abiy refused to negotiate. From 25 to 27 November 2020, a trio of former African presidents appointed by AU chair Cyril Ramaphosa visited Ethiopia with the aim of mediating; they met Abiy and representatives of the Transitional Government of Tigray (that he had appointed to officially replace the government led by the TPLF). An emergency Intergovernmental Authority on Development summit of East African heads of government and state met on 20 December 2020 in Djibouti, resulting in a statement of support for the Ethiopian constitutional order and humanitarian access to  the Tigray Region. On 19 February 2021, the TPLF expressed its wish for peace negotiations, declaring eight preconditions for the negotiations. On 20 February, the National Congress of Great Tigray (Baytona), Tigray Independence Party (TIP) and Salsay Weyane Tigray (SAWET) published six demands to the international community that closely overlapped with the TPLF's pre-conditions. The possibility of Tigray seceding from Ethiopia was debated by Tigrayans in 2021. , secession was opposed by senior officials within the TPLF and popular among younger people in Tigray, with expectations that an independence referendum could be organised. On 11 March 2021, the US  ambassador to Ethiopia, Geeta Pasi, announced support for joint humanitarian activities by international partners and the Government of Ethiopia. During early August 2021, the Government of Sudan attempted to act as a mediator in supporting a peace deal, but its efforts were rejected by the Ethiopian government, who claimed that due to the ongoing border dispute between the two countries over al-Fashaga, Sudan would not be able to act as a neutral mediator. The ""A3+1"" (or "A3 plus one"), consisting of three African countries, Kenya, Niger and Tunisia and one non-African country, Saint Vincent and the  Grenadines, is a mediation group in the spirit of "African solutions to African challenges". The "A3+1" group called for "mediation of the deep divides as part of an Ethiopian-owned process" with support from existing peace and conflict resolution structure, "especially those of the African Union". Role of foreign nations. Since the Tigray war began in November 2020, both the regional and international powers have been actively fueling the crisis. The government of Abiy Ahmed successfully gained support majorly from the Middle East. While silently backing the Ethiopian leader, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Turkey have been  supplying some of the latest armed drones. These countries supported Abiy either to make money or to gain edge in a strategic region. One of the closest allies to Abiy, the United Arab Emirates has intervened and provided military support in the war since the beginning. In December 2020, the weaponized drones operated by the Emirates were found stationed in the Eritrean port city of Assab. These were Chinese-made Wing Loong II drones, which are capable of dropping bombs or shooting missiles. These drones have been carrying out airstrikes against the Abiy’s rivals for over a year. The  Emiratis also trained the Ethiopian leader’s Republican Guard. In December 2021, the victory of Ethiopian forces over Dessie and Kombolcha was also partly due to the drones supplied by Abiy’s allies. Besides, Debretsion Gebremichael’s order to withdraw all his forces from Tigray borders also mentioned “the drones provided by foreign powers” as one of the major factors that prompted his decision. On the other hand, the United States and African governments had been calling for peace talks and a ceasefire between the two sides. In January 2022, US President Joe Biden spoke with Abiy, urging him for  a peace deal. However, at least 19 civilians were killed in an airstrike in Tigray the same day. The Ethiopian leader continued to increase the use of deadly armed drones supplied by the UAE, Turkey and Iran. A month later, the US House of Representatives advanced a bill to impose sanctions on Ethiopians responsible for worsening of the crisis. The Ethiopian Stabilization, Peace and Democracy Act was proposed to sanction the individuals and countries that provided training, weapons, or financial support to the parties involved in amplifying the crisis. Besides, it also called on the US State Department to determine  the role of foreign governments in fueling the war, including of the UAE, Turkey and China. Reactions. Domestic protests. On 9 February 2021, when religious leaders started a visit to Mekelle organized by federal authorities to show that the situation was "normal", protestors used stones and burnt tires to block central parts of the town in objection to the claim that the situation had returned to normality. Soldiers fired at the protestors, killing one. The head of the transport division of Ayder Referral Hospital and his son was beaten by soldiers and stated that there were many injured who were  not being brought to the hospital. On 30 May 2021, more than 10,000 pro-Ethiopia protestors gathered in Addis Ababa to protest "Western intervention" in the domestic affairs of Ethiopia. On 8 August 2021, thousands of protesters gathered in Addis Ababa to denounce the TDF. On 7 November 2021, thousands of protesters gathered in Addis Ababa to denounce the TPLF and diplomatic efforts to end the war. Protests by the diaspora. Ethiopians and Eritreans in the diaspora took to the streets to protest and express their views. These protests included: