Britain warns against travel to Tigray region after renewed clashes
The UK Foreign Office issued an urgent warning to its citizens on Sunday, urging them to avoid travel to all parts of the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia, due to escalating security tensions and renewed clashes between local forces and the federal army, which threaten the stability of the fragile peace agreement in the region.
Renewed violence and security concerns
The official British warning followed confirmed reports of renewed hostilities in the Tesmelt region of western Tigray, an area embroiled in a long-standing administrative and military dispute and claimed by forces from the neighboring Amhara region. The British Foreign Office, in its updated statement, urged extreme caution and advised against travel to the region "following renewed violence," noting two drone attacks that resulted in casualties, including a truck driver in the region's center, according to local media outlets close to the Tigrayan authorities.
Background of the conflict and the Pretoria Agreement
To understand the gravity of the current warning, one must consider the recent historical context. The region witnessed a bloody civil war that lasted two full years (from November 2020 to November 2022) between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front. That war officially ended with the signing of the Pretoria Agreement to cease hostilities in South Africa. However, the agreement's provisions still face significant implementation challenges, particularly regarding the withdrawal of non-federal forces and the return of displaced persons.
The African Union estimates that the previous conflict claimed the lives of at least 600,000 people, displaced millions, and caused a humanitarian crisis and famine described as the worst of the current century, making any new spark of violence a global concern about a repeat of the tragedy.
The importance of the event and international stances
The impact of this escalation is not limited to Ethiopia alone, but extends to the entire Horn of Africa region, which already suffers from fragile security. The renewed fighting has sparked widespread concern within the international community; UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the African Union, and the European Union have all expressed their deep concern, calling on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and commit to dialogue.
Observers believe that the continued skirmishes in the disputed areas, especially in western Tigray, which is rich in fertile land and strategically located on the border with Sudan, represent a "ticking time bomb" that could derail peace efforts if it is not quickly contained by the international guarantors of the agreement.
