Fears grow of renewed conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray

One of the fighters loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). [AP]

Tensions were rising between rival factions in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray on Thursday, as France warned against travel there.

Tigray was the scene of one of the most devastating wars of the century between 2020 and 2022, estimated to have claimed as many as 600,000 lives.

That war pitted local forces against the federal government and allied militias, as well as the army of neighbouring Eritrea.

Despite a peace agreement in November 2022, the region has not found stability and disputes between rival factions have intensified in recent months.

The federal government placed veteran Tigray politician Getachew Reda as head of an interim regional administration, but he has been challenged by his former ally, the head of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, Debretsion Gebremichael.

On Tuesday, forces loyal to Debrietson took control of Adigrat, Tigray's second-largest city.

"The town is under renewed tension, the population fears a return to the bad old days of the war," a local resident told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Getachew ordered the suspension of three generals of the Tigray Defence Forces, accusing the rival faction of trying to "take over the whole of Tigray" in an interview with Tigrai Mass Media Agency.

"Given the ongoing internal clashes in Tigray, particularly in Adigrat and in the regional capital, Mekele, all travel throughout the Tigray region is now formally discouraged," the French foreign ministry warned on Wednesday.

It also called on French nationals in Tigray to "stock up on emergency supplies (food, water, medicine, and possibly fuel) and to exercise utmost caution."

On Wednesday, Getachew's administration asked the Ethiopian government to "provide necessary assistance", without specifying what it needed.

Federal authorities in the capital Addis Ababa have not yet commented.

In February, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed lamented that Tigrayans "still live in fear and terror amid rumours of war."

France also urged "the avoidance of all unnecessary travel" to the northern Afar region, which borders Eritrea, at a time when tensions are high between the two Horn of Africa neighbours.