Fresh Tigray clashes send hundreds fleeing into Sudan

Hundreds of Ethiopians have reportedly fled into neighbouring Sudan after heavy fighting erupted between regional forces and the Ethiopian army in Tigray, raising fears of a return to full-scale conflict nearly four years after a peace deal ended the region’s devastating civil war. The clashes broke out on Saturday in Shererina, near the Sudanese border, and continued into Sunday, with witnesses reporting heavy artillery fire, drone strikes and sustained gunfire,BBCreports. A member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) said the fighting involved heavy weapons, while Sudanese medical and local sources said civilians and wounded fighters crossed the border seeking safety.

The latest violence marks one of the most serious confrontations since the African Union-brokered peace agreement signed in 2022 ended the two-year war between the TPLF and Ethiopia’s federal government, a conflict that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Tensions have remained high as key provisions of the peace agreement are yet to be fully implemented. Both sides blamed each other for the latest fighting.

Although Ethiopia’s federal government and military have not issued a formal statement, government minister Abraham Belay confirmed that clashes had taken place. The renewed violence has also heightened concerns that the conflict could become entangled with the ongoing civil war in Sudan, amid allegations that rival Sudanese factions are supporting opposing sides in Ethiopia. Shererina lies in the strategically important western Tigray area, a territory disputed by the Tigray and Amhara regions since the civil war, making it a persistent flashpoint despite the 2022 peace accord. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.