'Large-scale' fighting shatters lull in Ethiopia's Tigray

A destroyed tank is seen by the side of the road south of Humera, western Tigray, May 1, 2021. [AP Photo]

Ethiopian military spokesman Getnet Adane didn't respond to questions. The government's communication service in a statement asserted that the Tigray forces launched attacks Wednesday morning. It said if attacks continue, "the government will take measures to save the country ... and also bring (Tigray forces) to the negotiating table whether it likes it or not."

Last week, Tigray forces warned of an impending offensive. In a Facebook post Tuesday, Ethiopia's army rejected allegations of a military buildup and claimed the Tigray forces were "engaged in pre-conflict noise." The post also warned against spreading "secrets of the army."

Ethiopia's government has said it's ready for talks, but insists the African Union must lead mediation efforts. Tigray authorities have criticized the continental body's efforts and urgently sought the resumption of telephone, banking and other services that have been largely cut off since the war began.

Earlier this month, World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, an ethnic Tigrayan, described the crisis in Tigray as "the worst disaster on Earth" and wondered aloud if the reason global leaders have not responded was due to "the color of the skin of the people in Tigray."

Humanitarian aid began flowing to Tigray earlier this year, but a report by the World Food Program last week said that with little fuel allowed into the region to deliver supplies, "this is yet to translate into increased humanitarian assistance." The U.N. agency said "rates of malnutrition have skyrocketed," with 29% of children malnourished and 2.4 million people severely food insecure.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told journalists Wednesday he was "deeply shocked and saddened by the news of the resumption of hostilities" and called for an immediate cease-fire and resumption of talks along with "the full guarantee of humanitarian access to people in need and the reestablishment of public services."

The conflict also has created a humanitarian crisis for millions of people affected by the fighting in the Amhara and neighboring Afar regions, while thousands of Tigrayans now live in refugee camps in Sudan.

The AU envoy, former Nigerian President Olesegun Obasanjo, and his spokesman didn't respond to questions Wednesday and have said little about mediation efforts.

Ethiopian government soldiers ride in the back of a truck on a road near Agula, north of Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. [AP Photo]

The new fighting comes as the president of neighboring Kenya, who has tried to mediate with U.S. support, to Ethiopia's annoyance, prepares to leave office.

"This is one of the most important and brutal conflicts on Earth," U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, told journalists Wednesday after completing a five-country Africa visit during which he discussed Ethiopia with the presidents of Kenya and Rwanda.

"I actually had left Africa two days ago somewhat optimistic about the path forward for mediation, so (the renewed fighting) is very disheartening to hear," he said.

Coons visited Ethiopia last year as an envoy of President Joe Biden. "I have been very disappointed that Prime Minister Abiy has not made more progress in meeting the commitments he made, and deeply frustrated that the improvements in terms of humanitarian access and (reductions in) some of the press and information limitations have moved as slowly as they have," Coons said.

The renewed fighting is a "deafening warning to the key international and regional actors that they must immediately ensure peace talks actually occur," said analyst William Davison of the International Crisis Group. "They should accordingly instruct the belligerents to issue all of their demands when at the negotiating table, rather than making them preconditions for talks."