France, Aug. 14 -- For several months, the Ethiopian federal army (ENDF) and Tigrayan forces (TDF) have been massed on either side of the Tigray border.

This buildup comes as animosity grows between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's federal government and the region's rebel authorities - led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), a now-outlawed party that governed Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018.

Each side accuses the other of seeking to trigger a new conflict, following the devastating 2020-2022 war that claimed at least 600,000 lives.

The Pretoria peace agreement ended the fighting and maintained an uneasy calm until late 2025, when fresh clashes between federal troops and Tigrayan forces erupted.

Rebel forces in Ethiopia's Tigray sta...