One of the world’s worst humanitarian crises has escalated dramatically over the past two months — but has received scant attention from the international community. In Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, where federal forces have been battling regional rebels, the resumption of fighting has resulted in civilian casualties, the destruction of critical infrastructure and the displacement of tens of thousands of people since August. As peace talks between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan representatives begin this week, it is imperative for regional and world leaders and multilateral institutions to press for an immediate cessation of hostilities — and serious, sincere negotiations.
The conflict in Tigray has taken an unimaginable human toll since it first erupted in November 2020. From the outset, the war has been marked by brutality and a stark disregard for civilian life. According to an international commission convened by the U.N. Human Rights Council, there is evidence to suggest combatants on all sides have engaged in serious human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, mass rapes and deliberate starvation. The full scale of the devastation is difficult to gauge, thanks to a two-year internet blackout and restrictions on access to Tigray. Yet researchers from Ghent University estimate the war, resulting famine and lack of health-care services have claimed between 385,000 and 600,000 lives. Millions more have been displaced.
When a humanitarian truce was agreed to in March, some hoped it would herald a lifting of Ethiopia’s “de facto blockade” and set the stage for broader peace negotiations. But fighting recommenced in August. In recent weeks, Ethiopian forces have seized control of several key towns in Tigray, including the strategic city of Shire.
The federal offensive has been supported by troops from neighboring Eritrea, a longtime enemy of Ethiopia that made peace with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government in 2018 — an act for which Mr. Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Now, those who sang Mr. Abiy’s praises four years ago are sounding the alarm. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres recently warned that “the situation in Ethiopia is spiraling out of control.” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization and a Tigrayan, went even further, arguing that “there is a very narrow window now to prevent genocide” in Tigray.
So far, diplomatic efforts have been inconsistent and uncoordinated. As the war enters a critical period, the international community should ramp up engagement. For a start, world leaders should push both sides to negotiate in good faith during the ongoing African Union-led peace talks. They should urge an immediate end to fighting, protection for aid workers and opening access for desperately needed humanitarian assistance. The United States and its allies have some leverage: They could threaten to impose new targeted sanctions on actors who have committed abuses and continue to withhold non-humanitarian assistance until there is progress. With Ethiopia’s economy floundering because of the conflict, global powers can also make clear that debt relief is available — but only if the situation improves.
As fears of atrocities mount and the death toll increases by the day, there is no excuse for the world to look away.
