Fighting has returned to Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Here is what the conflict is about.

Tigray is a northern region of Ethiopia. Its ruling party, the TPLF, fought a brutal civil war with the federal government from 2020 to 2022. Hundreds of thousands died.

A 2022 peace deal ended that war. But relations between the TPLF and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government broke down again this year.

Last week the TPLF and allied armed groups launched an offensive against federal forces. They seized airports in Tigray, and Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights.

Now federal forces are counter-attacking. A pro-government militia claims it retook the Mekelle airport, though this is unverified.

Analysts warn the fighting could spread. Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt are all watching the region, and the African Union has urged maximum restraint.

Ethiopian Airlines has suspended flights to Mekelle, Shire and Axum. Conflict monitors say federal forces retook some towns in Afar. With media barred from the area, claims from both sides remain hard to verify.