Tigray crisis: Government and rebels exchange blame for the latest round of hostilities

A five-month truce stands broken and peace efforts hampered as fighting broke out on Wednesday in northern Ethiopia between government forces and Tigrayan rebels.

The fresh offensive as per AFP comes after the Ethiopian Air force's announcement that it has downed a plane carrying weapons for the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

UN chief Antonio Guterres expressed his "deep shock" at the recent renewal of hostilities and urged for an "immediate cessation of hostilities and for the resumption of peace talks".

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Moussa Faki Mahamat, the president of the African Union Commission, also urged a "de-escalation" and the restart of "talks to seek a peaceful solution."

As per a US State Department spokesperson, the US too has urged both parties to "redouble efforts to advance talks to achieve a durable ceasefire."

In order to prevent "a return to full-blown war," William Davison, senior Ethiopia analyst for the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, pleaded with all parties to end hostilities.

"This serious breach of the truce agreed earlier this year demonstrates the need for the two parties to arrange unconditional face-to-face negotiations as soon as these hostilities cease," he said.

Both the rebels and the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have traded accusations of hindering efforts to end the deadly 21-month war in Africa's second-most populous country. They also have traded accusations over who was to blame for the rebels' decision to re-enter battle.

The TPLF said that government forces and their allies had begun a "large scale" onslaught against southern Tigray early on Wednesday.The government, on the other hand, has accused the TPLF of striking first and breaking the ceasefire.

In Tigray, the war has led to the death of thousands of people and millions of people require humanitarian aid.There have been numerous accounts of atrocities like mass murder and sexual assault.

The World Food Programme of the UN said last week that rates of malnutrition have "skyrocketed" and that over half of the population of Tigray is suffering from a serious scarcity of food.

(With inputs from agencies)

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