US envoy calls renewed fighting in Ethiopia an 'unwinnable fight'

The US ambassador to Ethiopia on Wednesday described renewed fighting in the country's north as an "unwinnable fight," warning that Washington could impose additional sanctions on leaders involved in the escalation.

"I am disappointed to see the leadership of the TPLF, that the United States sanctioned earlier this year, make the poor decision to launch a large-scale offensive today," Ervin J. Massinga said in a statement.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) is the political and military organization that fought Ethiopia's federal government in a two-year war from 2020 to 2022 in the northern Tigray region.

Massinga said rejecting dialogue sponsored by the African Union under former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and engaging in an "unwinnable fight" would do nothing for the Ethiopian people.

"Other armed groups would be wise to avoid this," he said, adding that the US had "tools to sanction additional leaders" who try to push Ethiopia "down the wrong path."

"I still believe a reasonable political dialogue is the right way to go," he said.

The statement came as fighting intensified in Tigray and neighboring areas, raising fears of a return to a conflict that killed and displaced large numbers of people before a 2022 peace agreement halted the war.

Tigray authorities said federal forces launched attacks on the region and that Tigrayan forces responded defensively.

The African Union called for restraint and an immediate de-escalation Wednesday, saying the 2022 Pretoria Agreement remains the basis for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia.

The agreement, signed in South Africa in November 2022, ended major fighting in the Tigray war after two years of conflict. However, disputes over the status of contested territory, the return of displaced people and the disarmament of Tigrayan forces have remained unresolved.

Tigrayan forces also took control of airports in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray, as well as Axum and Shire. Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to the three cities amid the deteriorating security situation.

Last week, seven armed and political groups from different parts of Ethiopia, including the TPLF, announced that they had formed an alliance to coordinate their opposition to the federal government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.