Ethiopia, Tigray Forces Resume Fighting

Fighting erupted between the Ethiopian government and opposition forces in the nation’s Tigray region on Saturday. It is the most serious breach yet of a 2022 peace deal that ended the 21st century’s deadliest conflict to date.

• The 2020–2022 phase of violence between the government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front claimed an estimated 600,000 lives.
• Analysts warned for months that the war would restart soon, and Saturday’s clash could become the first battle of many. Hundreds of Ethiopians have already fled to Sudan.

The fighting erupted in Baeker, Mai Kadra and Shererina, a village on Tigray’s border with Sudan. Sudanese civilians who could hear the gunfire said it lasted all day; some projectiles killed refugees in Sudanese camps. Both sides blame the other for starting the fighting. Though conflict died down for an unknown reason early on Sunday, the situation remains fraught.

The real danger if this deadly war reignites is that violence could spread throughout the region. Specifically, analysts fear the clash could draw Sudan into open conflict with Ethiopia.

• Sudan’s foreign minister said on May 5 that his country was ready to fight Ethiopia if necessary.
• The conflict-watching organization acled believes the Tigray rebels sent a group called Army 70, which has been fighting alongside Sudan in its civil war, to take the territory.
• The Sudanese Echo reported that Ethiopian troops moved into the region along Sudan’s border at the behest of the United Arab Emirates. It’s reported that the U.A.E. wants to open a new front against Sudan to slow its efforts to win its own civil war.

Eritrea and other groups would likely join the fight should a full-out war in Ethiopia resume.

• Hours after the fighting ended Sunday, high-ranking Tigray leaders welcomed senior Eritrean military commanders to the region. (Click here for a deeper look at these threats.)

WarFronts reported that, should full-out war erupt, “Ethiopia will need a Noah-sized ark to save it.”

Bible prophecy says Ethiopia’s government is about to change drastically. A renewed conflict could provide the upheaval necessary for the fulfillment of this imminent prophecy.