Ethiopia’s fragile truce over Tigray conflict threatened by lack of promised aid

The humanitarian truce between the government and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is at risk unless aid is allowed to reach the country’s war-torn northern province soon, reports Fred Harter in Addis Ababa

File photo: A member of the Afar Special Forces holds a gun next to a damaged house in the village of Bisober in Tigray in December 2020 (AFP via Getty)

When Ethiopia’s government declared an immediate “humanitarian truce” last month in its war with the country’s northern Tigray province, the surprise move briefly reignited hopes for peace after more than a year of bitter fighting.

The conflict first broke out between the federal government and the region’s rulers, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), in November 2020, the result of months of tensions that spilled into violence when forces loyal to the TPLF allegedly attacked a military base.

Nearly 18 months later, tens of thousands are believed to have been killed and Ethiopia’s once vibrant economy is in tatters. Both sides regularly trade allegations of rape and massacres, and humanitarian workers privately accuse the government of using aid as a weapon.