About 29,000 citizens have been reportedly displaced in northern Ethiopia for the re-occurrence of conflict along the border of Tigray and Amhara regions amid the implementation of the Pretoria agreement, which was signed in 2022 to stop the two-year long war between the federal government and Tigray forces.

During the war, the Amhara forces were fought the Tigrayan counterparts and occupied lands which had been administered by the Tigray regional government. Last week, following the reoccupation Raya and Korem, by the Tigray administration in cooperation with the federal government as per the agreement of the Pretoria peace deal, many ethnic Amharas have left the place they controlled during the war.

The Raya Alamata district is the area which claimed by both regional states. The Amhara regional government had accused Tigray forces of launching an invasion, but the Tigrayan forces refuted the allegation.

The contested district of Raya Alamata had been under Tigray until war broke out in 2020, but the Amhara forces have since seized it. Following the resurgence of the latest fighting, Tigray forces have reportedly advanced towards some areas in the district, BBC reported.

Life-saving assistance is urgently required, the UN said, adding that some families were sheltering in open areas in nearby Amhara districts of Kobo and Sekota.

Meanwhile the embassies of seven Western countries - including the US and the UK - have released a joint statement expressing their concern at the reported violence. They are calling for de-escalation and have encouraged disarmament and demobilization, according to BBC.  

The diplomatic community in Addis Ababa also expressed concerns over the displacement. In a statement disseminated to media, G7 countries called for de-escalation of tensions in these areas. “The Embassies of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom  and United States in Addis Ababa are concerned by reports of violence in ‘contested’ areas of Northern Ethiopia,” the statement reads.