Fighting breaks out in western Tigray as Ethiopia and TPLF trade blame

Core Impact Points

• Fighting has broken out in western Tigray, Ethiopia, between the government and Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
• The clashes mark one of the most serious breaches of the 2022 Pretoria peace deal, which halted the war between the two parties but left deeper disputes unresolved.
• The US has imposed visa restrictions on TPLF 'hardliners' accused of blocking peace.
• The TPLF has declared the Pretoria agreement 'effectively dead', even as US Ambassador Ervin Massinga travelled to Mekelle to try to preserve the deal.
• The fighting follows months of deteriorating relations between Addis Ababa and the TPLF, the party that ruled Ethiopia for nearly three decades before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018.
• The US could face implications in the escalating conflict, as it has been involved in efforts to resolve the dispute between the parties.