The international world voiced worry about the violence involving fighters from different regions, and the United Nations reported that more than 50,000 people had been displaced by conflicts in a disputed area in northern Ethiopia.
As per the UN’s report late on Monday, “the number of people displaced by the armed clashes in Alamata Town, Raya Alamata, Zata and Ofla… since 13/14 April has reached more than 50,000,” local officials in the disputed area, which is claimed by Tigray and neighboring Amhara, reported.
“The humanitarian situation is dire, with thousands of women and children in need of broad humanitarian support to survive,” it stated.
During a two-year conflict between the government of Ethiopia and the regional Tigrayan authority, Amhara soldiers took control of Raya Alamata in southern Tigray.
After the agreement was reached in Pretoria in November 2022, Amhara forces—which had supported federal troops during the conflict—were supposed to leave Raya Alamata as part of a peace pact between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and Tigrayan authority.
AFP demands for information were not answered by the Tigrayan authorities or the federal administration. Independent verification of the situation on the ground is not possible because to the severe restrictions on media access to northern Ethiopia.
The diplomatic missions of numerous countries, including the US, Japan, UK, and France, called for communication and the “de-escalation and protection of civilians” on Saturday in response to reports of the violence alarming the international community.
Amhara forces controlled and occupied western Tigray during the conflict, a region that is claimed by both regions.
Since April 2023, Amhara, Ethiopia’s second most populous region, has been plagued by conflicts stemming from the federal government’s decision to disband regional armies around the nation.
The decision, according to Amhara nationalists, would weaken their area, who already felt misled by the Tigray peace deal.
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