SW News: In Ethiopia’s Tigray, the fragile truce has gone for a toss as the conflict between the separatist rebels and the federal troops has once again started. The capital Makale was hit by aerial bombardments on August 31, said rebel authorities. Since November 2020, they have been fighting the Ethiopian federal government.

Fighting resumed after a five-month truce on August 24. “Night drone raid on Makale, no military target imaginable,” tweeted Getachew Reda, spokesman for the Tigray rebel authorities, adding that “at least three bombs had been dropped.”

Dr Kibrom Gebreselassie, medical director of Ayder Hospital, posted on Twitter that a “drone raid in Makalé, around midnight” saw “victims arriving at the hospital”. The Ethiopian government’s communications department could not be reached immediately.

Defeated by the Ethiopian army sent by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to dislodge the Tigray executive who challenged his authority in November 2020, the Tigrayan rebels recaptured almost the entire region in mid-2021 in a counter-offensive that saw them advance towards Addis Ababa. Then they retreated to Tigray, accusing the government of “besieging” the region, which the government denies.

The international community has stepped up calls for a cessation of hostilities and dialogue. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres met on August 25 with Abiy and the head of the rebel authorities, Debretsion Gebremichael.

Tigray rebels said they wanted to continue advancing into neighboring southern Tigray regions to “neutralize” military reinforcements sent by the government while declaring themselves open to negotiations.

According to local sources, they have advanced about 50km to the south, inside the Amhara region, and to the southeast, in the Afar region.

APDA, an NGO active in Afar, reported that it had already identified 18 000 people displaced due to renewed fighting and feared their number would increase given the advance of Afar rebels towards Amhara.