NAIROBI, Kenya — The conflict in northern Ethiopia has escalated sharply in recent days, as Ethiopian forces began a sweeping offensive in a bid to reverse recent gains by Tigrayan rebels, Western officials and Tigrayan leaders said.
U.N. officials said the attack will deepen the humanitarian crisis in a region that is plunging into the world’s worst famine in a decade.
Senior Western officials broadly confirmed Tigrayan accounts that the assault, which had been anticipated for weeks, started in the Amhara region, which borders Tigray to the south.
A strict communications blackout imposed by the government means few details about the fighting can be independently confirmed.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who was sworn in for a second term last week, has declined to comment in recent days.
Persons:
U.N, Abiy Ahmed
Organizations:
Ethiopian
Locations:
NAIROBI, Kenya, Ethiopia, Amhara, Tigray