Tigray Crisis Continues as Thousands Displaced Despite Ceasefire

Despite a peace deal agreed upon last year, forces from Ethiopia’s Amhara region have displaced tens of thousands of ethnic Tigrayans from disputed territory in the north of the country in recent weeks. The Mai Tsebri area in northwestern Tigray has changed hands several times during the conflict that began in 2020 and ended with a ceasefire in November. However, Amhara forces have continued to cause upheaval, leading to the displacement of 47,000 people to Endabaguna, a town 55 kilometers (34 miles) further north, according to United Nations figures seen by the AP.

A report by a humanitarian agency states that residents fled Mai Tsebri due to harassment, ethnic profiling, and direct threats from irregular Amhara forces, which also carried out evictions. Aid deliveries to Endabaguna have been nonexistent since the displaced people started arriving, leaving them on the brink of starvation. Many of those recently uprooted from Mai Tsebri have been displaced for a second time, having been previously forced from their homes in western Tigray.

Under the recent ceasefire, aid deliveries to Tigray resumed after two years of restrictions. However, aid workers say Amhara forces have continued to block food distribution around Mai Tsebri, and residents have reported killings. Humanitarian officials believe the unrest will likely lead to an increase in displacements from Mai Tsebri, already averaging 150 households every day, according to an assessment by another aid agency.