Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie has accused unnamed external actors of interfering in the country’s affairs as renewed fighting intensifies in the northern Tigray region.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Taye said Ethiopia had shown “immense restraint” despite what he described as continued outside interference.
His comments came hours after major fighting erupted between federal forces and Tigrayan forces.
The renewed clashes have raised concerns about the future of the 2022 peace agreement that ended Ethiopia’s devastating two-year Tigray war.
Ethiopia president warns of external interference
Taye did not publicly identify the countries or actors he accused of interference.
“Despite continued interference in our internal affairs by adversarial elements, we have exercised immense restraint,” he told the General Assembly.
He also called on what he described as “forces of destruction and mayhem” to respect the right of people across the Horn of Africa to live peacefully.
The Ethiopian government has separately accused neighbouring Eritrea of supporting armed groups inside Ethiopia.
Eritrea has repeatedly denied similar allegations.
Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have deteriorated in recent years, while Ethiopia also has longstanding tensions with Egypt over the Nile and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Tigray fighting threatens peace agreement
The latest clashes represent a serious challenge to the Pretoria Agreement signed in November 2022.
That agreement ended two years of war between Ethiopia’s federal government and Tigrayan forces.
Hundreds of thousands of people died during the conflict.
Now, federal authorities and Tigrayan leaders have offered competing accounts of the renewed hostilities.
An Ethiopian official said Tigrayan forces launched a major offensive against the federal government.
However, Tigray’s leaders said they had entered a defensive war in response to aggression by federal forces.
Armed groups form anti-government alliance
The escalation also follows the formation of a new alliance of seven Ethiopian armed groups.
The coalition includes the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and groups from other parts of Ethiopia.
The alliance says it aims to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
Several members accuse the federal government of centralising power and marginalising Ethiopia’s regions.
The government says it has pursued a national dialogue to address political divisions and internal conflicts.
Meanwhile, Abiy’s spokesperson has accused members of the alliance of receiving financial support from Eritrea.
Eritrea has previously rejected accusations that it supports Ethiopian armed groups.
Concerns grow over wider conflict
Renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia has raised fears of another prolonged conflict.
The United Nations and European Union have called for restraint and a return to the African Union-backed peace process.
Regional diplomats and analysts have also warned that renewed conflict could draw in armed groups from elsewhere in Ethiopia and further destabilise the Horn of Africa.
The 2022 agreement brought an end to one of Africa’s deadliest recent conflicts.
The latest fighting now places that peace process under its most serious pressure in years.