Democrats press Trump administration to intervene in Ethiopia

A group of Senate Democrats, led by Senator Jeanne Shaheen, is urging the Trump administration to step in as fighting resumes in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, sparking concerns of a relapse into civil war reminiscent of the 2020-2022 conflict. The senators, all Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Africa panel, express alarm that the 2020-2022 war's African Union peace deal is "unraveling."

They criticize both sides for their actions, denouncing a recent drone attack on a U.S.-funded food aid truck considered by the U.S. to be committed by Ethiopian forces. The senators also accuse the Tigrayan forces of sidelining the region’s interim government, refusing to disarm, and conscripting civilians against their will. They further fault the Trump administration for allowing sanctions on regional players to lapse days before the fighting recommenced.

Clashes and airstrikes have been frequent in Tigray for months. Last week, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) declared a "defensive war" and seized key locations before pushing into neighboring Afar and Amhara regions. They had also publicly allied with other Ethiopian armed groups aiming to overthrow the federal government.

The renewed fighting has increased fears of destabilization in a volatile region already rife with conflicts in Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen. The 2020-2022 Tigray war resulted in over 100,000 fatalities and precipitated a famine in the area. While the U.S. has taken some actions, such as imposing sanctions on TPLF officials suspected of undermining peace, the administration has also let the broader Ethiopia sanctions program's executive order expire.

The State Department has condemned the aid convoy strike but has not named the suspected perpetrator.