NAIROBI, Kenya — The Tigray People’s Liberation Front on Saturday welcomed African Union appeals for restraint and said it is prepared to join AU-facilitated talks, as fresh clashes in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and reported drone strikes raised fears of renewed war.
The TPLF, a leading opposition group that once ran the country before being displaced by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, remains banned from political activity. In a letter to the AU, the party endorsed calls for “restraint and dialogue” and said it was ready to “engage constructively in any dialogue initiative facilitated by the African Union.”
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Hostilities flared in recent days in Tsemlet, in western Tigray — territory claimed by forces from the neighboring Amhara region — underscoring a volatile landscape where front lines and authorities remain contested despite a peace deal aimed at ending the region’s brutal war. Flights to Tigray have been suspended since Thursday following the clashes.
The violence coincided with two drone attacks Saturday morning in central Tigray that targeted trucks and killed a driver, according to Dimtsi Woyane television, a media outlet close to the Tigrayan authorities. The reports could not be independently verified. Ethiopia’s federal army has not responded to requests for comment on the latest escalation.
The African Union urged “all parties to exercise maximum restraint.” A statement from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s office said he is closely following developments, “deeply concerned about the potential impact on civilians and the risk of a return to a wider conflict in a region still working to rebuild and recover.” The European Union warned any renewed conflict would have “serious consequences for civilians and regional stability.”
The warnings reflect lingering fragility nearly three years after Tigray emerged from a war between Ethiopian forces and the TPLF that the AU says killed at least 600,000 people. While open warfare subsided, tension has simmered across northern Ethiopia, with Amhara and Eritrean forces still present in parts of Tigray in violation of the peace agreement, according to regional authorities.
Internal political strains have also deepened. Last year, the head of Tigray’s interim administration established by Addis Ababa fled Mekele, the regional capital, amid growing divisions within the TPLF. The federal government has accused the group of forging ties with neighboring Eritrea and “actively preparing to wage war against Ethiopia,” allegations the party rejects.
The renewed clashes around Tsemlet highlight the unresolved status of western Tigray, one of the most sensitive territorial and administrative questions left over from the war. Control of the area has repeatedly shifted, and competing claims by regional forces have complicated implementation of the peace deal and the return of displaced civilians.
The AU’s call for restraint and the TPLF’s stated willingness to engage offer a narrow opening to pull back from the brink. But without clarity from federal authorities — and amid suspended flights and reports of drone strikes — the risk of miscalculation remains high. Diplomatic pressure from the AU, the United Nations and the European Union will be tested in the coming days as they seek to steady a region still recovering from profound trauma.
For residents in Tigray, the stakes are immediate: avoiding a relapse into conflict while trying to rebuild homes and lives shattered by years of war. Whether the latest round of calls for dialogue translates into meaningful de-escalation will depend on all sides halting hostilities, granting access for independent monitors, and committing to talks that address security, governance and the displacement crisis rooted in western Tigray.
As of Saturday, there was no official word from Ethiopia’s federal army on the situation. The AU and international partners are urging calm, while the TPLF says it is ready to meet under AU auspices — a test of whether fragile peace can hold in one of Africa’s most combustible regions.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
