The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has called on Ethiopia and Eritrea to urgently de-escalate tensions as fighting resurges in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. Speaking in Geneva on Tuesday, UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani warned that recent clashes between the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) and Tigray Security Forces (TSF) risk triggering a renewed human rights crisis. Ethiopia has accused Eritrean forces of carrying out a massacre in Tigray and demanded their withdrawal from its territory, further heightening regional tensions.
Clashes intensified on 26 January in north-western Tigray, particularly in Tselemti and Laelay Tselemti near the Amhara border. The TSF reportedly withdrew from Tselemti on 1 February. Both sides are said to have used drones, artillery and heavy weaponry, with reports of arrests and detentions linked to alleged affiliations.
Fighting has also continued in southern Tigray near the Afar border between the TSF and a rival faction known as the Tigray Peace Forces. Civilians remain at risk, with more than one million people still internally displaced from the devastating 2020–2022 conflict, which killed large numbers and uprooted over two million people. The UN urged all parties to pursue political dialogue, investigate alleged abuses independently, and avoid further armed confrontation. Türk also warned that rising tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea could worsen humanitarian conditions across the Horn of Africa.
