Tigray fighting escalates as Ethiopia expels Eritrean diplomats
AFRICAGLOBAL SECURITY
Photo: aljazeera.com
At least 52 civilians were killed over three days of fighting near Alamata in Ethiopia's Tigray region, as government troops pushed toward the regional capital, Mekelle.
More than 700 wounded were hospitalized, and the fighting has spread into the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions, disrupting communications and stranding foreign tourists in Lalibela. Separately, explosions struck Addis Ababa, and Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry gave ten Eritrean diplomats 48 hours to leave the country, accusing Asmara of financing Tigrayan rebels, while closing its own embassy in Eritrea, according to allAfrica and OkayAfrica.
The diplomatic rupture with Eritrea raises the risk of a wider regional conflict just as the renewed offensive strains the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement. Humanitarian access and the fate of hundreds of thousands displaced by the fighting are likely to dominate the coming days.