According to a senior commander quoted by the official Ethiopian news agency ENA, the Ethiopian army declared on Wednesday that it had shot down a jet carrying weapons for the Tigray rebels after it “violated Ethiopian airspace” after flying across Sudan.
General Tesfaye Ayalew was quoted by ENA as saying, “The plane that invaded our airspace from Sudan (…) and which sought to deliver weapons to the terrorist organisation was shot down by our air force.” He omitted to mention the plane’s origin or the time it was shot down.
The Tigrayan rebels and the federal government both claimed responsibility for shattering the five-month ceasefire when fighting erupted in border areas of the region on Wednesday.
Before the Ethiopian government accused them of “breaking” the truce, the rebel leaders in Tigray first claimed that the federal Ethiopian army had launched a “large-scale onslaught” against their positions.
Getachew Reda, a spokesperson for the rebel authority in Tigray, told AFP from Nairobi that the Ethiopian federal forces “started an onslaught early this (Wednesday) morning around 05:00 (02:00 GMT), and we are holding our positions.”
He mentioned a “large-scale onslaught” against the Tigrayan rebels’ “positions on the southern front” on Twitter.
The Tigray rebel forces “launched an offensive today at 05:00” (02:00 GMT) and “broke the truce,” the Ethiopian government retaliated in a statement, “disregarding the multiple peace offers made by the Ethiopian government.”
The government urged the international community to apply “strong pressure” on the rebel authorities in Tigray, saying that “our gallant defense troops and all our security forces are responding victoriously and in a coordinated manner” to the attack.
Since the area is essentially cut off from the rest of the nation, it is impossible to objectively verify the claims of either side.
Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the UN, apologized and demanded an end to hostilities in response to the most recent escalation.
“I am deeply shocked and saddened by the news of the resumption of hostilities in Ethiopia. Ethiopians, Tigrayans, Amharas, Oromos, Afars have already suffered too much. My strong appeal is for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for the resumption of peace talks between the government and the TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front, ed), with at the same time, the full guarantee of humanitarian access to people in need and the reestablishment of public services.” Guterres said.
The fighting is the first significant confrontation to be reported since both sides agreed to a truce in late March, which has thus far mainly been upheld.
On Wednesday, the southernmost point of Tigray, which borders the neighboring nations of Amhara to the west and Afar to the east, was the scene of battle, according to reports from both the government and the rebels.
The rebels in southern Tigray claimed in a statement that “the offensive on this front… is intended to take southern Tigray.”
Fighting, according to the Amhara Fano militia, is occurring in the Mehago and Jemedo parts of the Amhara region, close to the Kobo area, which is also in the Amhara region and has been held by the Tigrayan rebels since a counteroffensive in 2021.
Fighting has allegedly stopped in Tigray itself, according to the Fano militia, but this cannot be independently verified.
Fighting was reported in a border area between the Afar region and southeast Tigray, according to APDA, an NGO engaged in the Afar region.
The Tigrayan rebels are being pushed out of Afar by the federal forces, who are numerously present in the Yallo area.
Despite repeated promises from both parties over the previous two months to begin negotiations, the tone between the federal government and the tiger rebels has recently deteriorated, with one side accusing the other of preparing to resume hostilities.
The federal Ethiopian army said on Tuesday that the tiger rebels had “defamed” it by saying that it had “moved towards their positions” or “bombed” them.
By early afternoon on Wednesday, the African Union (AU), which is based in Addis Abeba and is in charge of bringing the warring sides to the negotiating table, had not to respond to the resurgence of hostilities.
After months of defying his authority, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed dispatched the Ethiopian army to Tigray in November 2020 to remove the local leaders he accused of targeting military installations there.
Regional forces, amhara militias, and an expeditionary force from neighboring Eritrea—troops still stationed in western Tigray—supported the federal Ethiopian army.
After initially withdrawing, the Tigrayan rebels launched a counteroffensive in the middle of 2021 in which they invaded the nearby Amhara and Afar regions, regaining control of the majority of the area.
In Tigray, where the country’s economic foundation has been decimated, the fighting has brought about a serious humanitarian disaster.
