Ethiopian Airlines Resumes Flights Amid Tigray Tensions

Ethiopian Airlines has restarted flights to Tigray after suspending them due to clashes between local and national forces. Although a peace agreement ended the two-year conflict in 2022, disputes over territories and delayed disarmament persist, threatening renewed confrontation.

Ethiopian Airlines has resumed flights to the northern Tigray region, according to an official statement on Tuesday. This decision comes just days after the airline had halted operations in the area, a move prompted by recent skirmishes between regional and national forces that ignited fears of escalating tensions.

The Ethiopian national army had engaged in a brutal two-year conflict with Tigray People's Liberation Front fighters until the conflict's cessation in late 2022. This war reportedly claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, attributed to direct combat, healthcare system failures, and famine. Diplomatic and governmental sources report that clashes erupted once again in the disputed western Tigray region last week.

According to a senior Tigrayan official and a humanitarian worker, drone strikes on Saturday resulted in one death and one injury. Although a peace agreement was reached in November 2022, ongoing disagreements, including contested territories in western Tigray and delayed disarmament of Tigray forces, continue to pose challenges.

(With inputs from agencies.)