Heavy fighting erupted on August 1 between Ethiopian federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) near the village of Shererina, close to the Sudanese border, in the most serious confrontation since the 2022 Pretoria peace deal ended two years of civil war.
The clashes, which began early Saturday morning and continued into Sunday, involved heavy artillery, mechanized units, and drones, according to a TPLF official. The fighting pitted a TPLF unit known as “Army 70,” reportedly based across the border in Sudan, against Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) troops.
Artillery shells landed on refugee camps inside Sudan’s Al-Qadarif State during the fighting, killing and injuring several Ethiopian refugees, Sudan’s Commission for Refugees confirmed. The commission expressed grave concern over the ongoing troop mobilizations along the border strip, which serves as a key transit point for asylum seekers entering Sudan.
Hundreds of civilians and wounded fighters have fled into Sudan in the days since the clashes began. Sudan currently hosts approximately 63,000 Ethiopian refugees and asylum seekers, most living in camps in Al-Qadarif and Kassala states. The latest fighting has raised fears of a new wave of displacement on top of the existing humanitarian burden.
The border region has become increasingly tense as Ethiopia and Sudan trade accusations. Addis Ababa has accused Khartoum of financing TPLF “mercenaries,” while Sudan has reported drone strikes originating from Ethiopian territory. The tensions risk drawing both nations deeper into confrontation at a time when Sudan is itself engulfed in civil war.
The 2022 Pretoria Agreement, brokered by the African Union with support from the United States and United Nations, ended a devastating conflict in Tigray that killed hundreds of thousands. The deal called for the disarmament of TPLF forces and the restoration of federal authority in the region. Renewed fighting suggests the peace process remains fragile.
In recent weeks, the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union’s High Representative for the Horn of Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo, traveled to Tigray to mediate a peaceful resolution. Reports also indicate the TPLF has intensified preparations by carrying out forced military recruitment while many young people are leaving the region to avoid conscription.
The crisis unfolds against the backdrop of broader regional instability. The Horn of Africa faces overlapping conflicts in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia, with external powers including the UAE, Turkey, and Russia deepening their involvement. The potential collapse of the Tigray peace deal would add another layer of instability to an already volatile region.
Sources:
BBC News – Hundreds flee fighting in northern Ethiopia as fears rise of return to civil war
Sudan Tribune – Ethiopian refugees killed as border clashes spill into Sudan camps
Al Jazeera – Tigray refugees flee into Sudan after deadly violence on Ethiopia border
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