Accessibility links

Breaking News

Conflict

Tigray Peace Top 2023 Task

FILE - Girls hold a banner in support of the recent peace deal agreed between the Ethiopian federal government and Tigray forces, at an event in Mekele, the capital of Ethiopia's Tigray region. Taken Nov. 26, 2022.
FILE - Girls hold a banner in support of the recent peace deal agreed between the Ethiopian federal government and Tigray forces, at an event in Mekele, the capital of Ethiopia's Tigray region. Taken Nov. 26, 2022.

This new year will be key to determining whether the ceasefire reached in November can deliver a lasting peace in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region.

On Nov. 2, Ethiopia's federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), a guerrilla force-turned political party that dominates the region, agreed to stop fighting following African Union-mediated talks.

The truce has enabled international aid deliveries to resume to parts of Tigray. Last week, state-owned Ethiopian Airlines resumed to Tigray's capital.

The two-year-long war caused a dire humanitarian crisis, killing tens of thousands, leaving millions in severe need of food and threatening the stability of Africa's second-most populous country.

But the prospects for peace remain uncertain.

The TPLF, which dominated Ethiopia for nearly three decades before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018, accuses his government of wanting to centralize power at the expense of regions. Abiy accuses the TPLF of trying to regain national power. Each side rejects the other's narrative.

Major issues remain to be resolved, including the withdrawal of Eritrean and other forces that have fought alongside the government and the future of disputed territory claimed by both Tigray and the neighboring region of Amhara.

Although Eritrea, a sworn enemy of the TPLF that has fought on the side of Abiy's government, began withdrawing some of its forces from two major Tigray towns recently, it is not yet clear whether its troops will pull out of Tigray altogether.

Until they do, diplomats and analysts worry Tigray forces will refuse to disarm, risking a resumption of hostilities.

Human rights violations by all sides - including extrajudicial killings, rapes and looting - have been documented by United Nations agencies, Ethiopia's state appointed human rights commission and media, including Reuters. All sides deny the allegations.

International partners are heavily invested in ending the war. The AU, Kenya and South Africa helped mediate the truce and are keen to deliver an African solution to the problem. The United States has said it will not hesitate to impose sanctions on parties that fail to abide by the truce.

Ethiopia, seeking to revive interest from foreign investors, has restarted the sale of a 40% stake in state-owned Ethio Telecom and a separate plan to issue a second full telecoms license.

It is also targeting a debt restructuring under the Group of 20's Common Framework and has asked the International Monetary Fund for a new loan program, but progress has been complicated by the conflict.

See all News Updates of the Day

Africa News Tonight: Hunger, violence stalk Goma residents, US considers AFRICOM changes, Cyclone batters southern Africa

Africa News Tonight: Hunger, violence stalk Goma residents, US considers AFRICOM changes, Cyclone batters southern Africa
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

Africa News Tonight: Angola advances DRC talks, Tunisian opposition leaders remain jailed, US firefighters team up with Liberian colleagues

Africa News Tonight: Angola advances DRC talks, Tunisian opposition leaders remain jailed, US firefighters team up with Liberian colleagues
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

Southern Africa bloc to begin phased withdrawal of troops from DRC


Southern Africa bloc to begin phased withdrawal of troops from DRC
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:01:05 0:00

The Southern African Development Community or SADC said Thursday that a summit of regional heads of state had terminated the mandate of its troop deployment in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and decided on a "phased withdrawal." SADC lost more than a dozen soldiers in conflict in January. The 16-nation bloc took the decision at a virtual summit on the conflict in the area that has seen some three decades of unrest and claimed millions of lives. "Summit terminated the Mandate of SAMIDRC and directed the commencement of a phased withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops from the DRC," the Southern African bloc said in a communique after the summit. The SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, SAMIDRC, — made up of soldiers from Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa — was sent to the region in December 2023 to help the government of the DRC, also a SADC member, restore peace and security. SADC extended its mandate late last year.

Africa News Tonight: DRC, US in talks on trade and security, concerns of civil war risk in South Sudan, tariff talk rattles stock markets

Africa News Tonight: DRC, US in talks on trade and security, concerns of civil war risk in South Sudan, tariff talk rattles stock markets
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

University students resume studies in Bukavu as DRC crisis deepens

University students resume studies in Bukavu as DRC crisis deepens
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:01:13 0:00

University students in Bukavu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, are gradually returning to class for the first time since M23 rebels took their city last month. Toto Mufungizi, a student, said while they were home “during these months, we have endured many strange things.” “We stayed at home for at least one month and three weeks. We were confined due to this security situation. Even today, there is no serenity, we cannot move around safely," he told Reuters. The M23 rebel group captured Bukavu, South Kivu's capital, in mid-February, forcing a weeks-long suspension of academic activities. The Official University of Bukavu, UOB, and other institutions have now reopened, but security concerns persist. "We are afraid because we heard rumors that in Goma, students were kidnapped. Here, we are also afraid," third-year student Patient Kaliwe said. Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.

Africa News Tonight: Expert calls for dialogue in DRC conflict, Uganda sends troops to Juba, top US, Ukrainian diplomats talk in Jeddah

Africa News Tonight: Expert calls for dialogue in DRC conflict, Uganda sends troops to Juba, top US, Ukrainian diplomats talk in Jeddah
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

Africa News Tonight: Exploring the roots of DRC's conflict, Sudan’s displaced face hunger, Morocco's traditions shape Ramadan observances

Africa News Tonight: Exploring the roots of DRC's conflict, Sudan’s displaced face hunger, Morocco's traditions shape Ramadan observances
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:56 0:00

US-Ukraine to hold talks in Saudi Arabia on how to end war with Russia

US-Ukraine to hold talks in Saudi Arabia on how to end war with Russia
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:01:56 0:00

Even as U.S.-led peace negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine recently faced setbacks, talks between Washington and Kyiv are set to take place this week in Saudi Arabia. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details.

US hostage envoy calls Hamas meeting ‘helpful’

US hostage envoy calls Hamas meeting ‘helpful’
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:02:29 0:00

A Trump administration hostage negotiator called his recent meetings with representatives of U.S.-designated terror group Hamas “helpful.” Discussions focused on the release of an American-Israeli hostage held by Hamas. This, as Israel says it plans to deploy a delegation this week to discuss ceasefire talks. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the story.

Africa News Tonight: Arab nations plan Gaza’s future, Afrikaner groups accused of treason, Sudan health workers struggle to provide care

Africa News Tonight: Arab nations plan Gaza’s future, Afrikaner groups accused of treason, Sudan health workers struggle to provide care
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:48 0:00

Russia waits for Trump's next move after clash with Zelenskyy

Russia waits for Trump's next move after clash with Zelenskyy
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:03:13 0:00

Russians are carefully watching U.S. President Donald Trump's push for an end to the war in Ukraine after his heated encounter last week with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from Moscow.

European leaders question the halt in US military aid to Ukraine

European leaders question the halt in US military aid to Ukraine
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:03:29 0:00

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a "pause" Monday to military aid shipments to Ukraine with immediate effect, which his administration said was aimed at forcing all sides to peace talks. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, European leaders have said it is vital to continue weapons shipments to Kyiv — but there are doubts over how long Ukraine can keep on fighting.

Africa News Tonight: Trump focuses on policy goals in speech, Germany suspends aid to Rwanda, South Sudan tense after troops deploy in Juba

Africa News Tonight: Trump focuses on policy goals in speech, Germany suspends aid to Rwanda, South Sudan tense after troops deploy in Juba
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

Africa News Tonight: DRC president rejects talks with M23, Trump addresses Congress, US auto tariffs may shake up Nigerian car market

Africa News Tonight: DRC president rejects talks with M23, Trump addresses Congress, US auto tariffs may shake up Nigerian car market
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

Africa News Tonight: Sudan airstrikes batter families, schools to open as calm returns to Bukavu, thousands mourn Namibia’s Nujoma

Africa News Tonight: Sudan airstrikes batter families, schools to open as calm returns to Bukavu, thousands mourn Namibia’s Nujoma
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

Load more

XS
SM
MD
LG