Drone strike in Tigray killed and injured civilians as peace efforts falter

Mekelle, Tigray (Wegahta)— A drone strike in Tigray region killed at least three civilians and injured three others on Tuesday, local sources said, in the latest series of aerial attacks that have heightened fears of a return to the devastating war between the federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front. The strike occurred at September 8, about 2 a.m. in the May Shumet area of Hintalo district in southeastern Tigray, according to local sources and residents. Local sources who spoke with Wegahta said the area was struck repeatedly, with seven explosions reported, hitting a residential village and buses that local sources alleged were carrying military personnel. Three civilians were killed and other three civilians including a child were among those taken to a hospital in Adi Gudom, sources who visited the hospital said. Tigrayan authorities accused the Federal government of carrying out the drone strikes however there was no immediate comment from Ethiopia's federal government or military on the strike. The attack comes after weeks of renewed clashes, drone strikes and political confrontation between Addis Ababa and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, deepening fears that the region is sliding back toward the kind of war that devastated it between 2020 and 2022. The escalation and fighting has exposed how fragile the November 2022 peace agreement remains, with several of its most provisions still unresolved and relations between the federal government and Tigray's authorities deteriorating sharply in recent months. The agreement, reached in Pretoria through African Union-led negotiations, ended two years of brutal fighting but did not settle the political and territorial issues that had fueled the war. The continued occupation of western Tigray, withdrawal of non-ENDF forces, the return of people displaced during the conflict, the political status of the TPLF, DDR and other underlying political issues have remained sources of tension. Recently this disputes and tensions between the TPLF and the Federal government have escalated into military confrontation.bA reported clash in western Tigray in August have been followed by a succession of reported drone strikes, while both sides accusing the other of military preparations and actions that threaten the peace process. The renewed violence has raised concern because it is occurring in a region where memories of the previous war remain fresh and where large numbers of people have yet to fully recover from displacement, destroyed livelihoods and the collapse of basic services. The deterioration has prompted a renewed diplomatic push. The African Union has sought to revive dialogue through its High Representative for the Horn of Africa, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who helped broker the 2022 agreement. His recent visits to Mekelle have come as the United States, European Union and other international actors have urged the parties to exercise restraint and return to negotiations. However the Tigray People's Liberation Front has rejected Obasanjo's role as a mediator, arguing that the mediation process has failed to produce sufficient progress and questioning his impartiality. The widening gap between the diplomatic effort and events on the ground has heightened concerns that repeated violations of the peace agreement could gradually develop into a broader confrontation. For civilians in Tigray, that prospect comes at a particularly dangerous time. The region is still grappling with the humanitarian consequences of the previous war, while poor rainfall, food insecurity and wider climate shocks linked to El Niño are placing additional pressure on communities already struggling to rebuild.