Tigray War Definition and Overview

Timeline

4 November 2020
The Tigray War began on when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military offensive against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the party…
2 November 2022
The war formally ended with the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed in Pretoria on under African Union mediation led by former Nigerian president Olus…
12 November 2022
The war formally ended with the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed in Pretoria on 2 November 2022 under African Union mediation led by former Nigerian…

Research it like a delegate

Research on modeldiplomat.com

Ask a follow-up about Tigray War

Open a cited briefing in Model Diplomat search — timelines, positions, and sources you can use in committee or exam answers.

Start research on Tigray War

Example

In November 2022, the Ethiopian federal government and the TPLF signed the AU-brokered Pretoria agreement, formally ending two years of fighting in the Tigray War.

Keep learning

Go deeper than the definition

Explore all Global Affairs lessons Test yourself with a quiz

Timeline

4 November 2020

The Tigray War began on when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military offensive against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the party…

2 November 2022

The war formally ended with the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed in Pretoria on under African Union mediation led by former Nigerian president Olus…

12 November 2022

The war formally ended with the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed in Pretoria on 2 November 2022 under African Union mediation led by former Nigerian…

Research it like a delegate

The Tigray War began on 4 November 2020 when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military offensive against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that had dominated Ethiopia's ruling coalition for nearly three decades before Abiy's rise in 2018. The trigger was an attack on the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) bases in Tigray, which the federal government attributed to TPLF-aligned forces. Tensions had been building over postponed national elections, Tigray's decision to hold its own regional vote in September 2020, and a broader political realignment after Abiy dissolved the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front coalition.

The war drew in Eritrean forces under President Isaias Afwerki and Amhara regional militias and Fano irregulars, who fought alongside the ENDF against the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF). Fighting spread beyond Tigray into the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions during 2021, when the TDF advanced toward Addis Ababa before being pushed back in late 2021 and early 2022.

The conflict was marked by:

A prolonged federal blockade of Tigray restricting humanitarian aid, banking, electricity, and telecommunications.
Widespread reports of massacres, sexual violence, and ethnic cleansing, including the Axum and Mai Kadra incidents, documented by a joint Ethiopian Human Rights Commission–OHCHR investigation published in November 2021.
A famine-like situation affecting millions, per UN OCHA assessments.

Estimates of excess deaths from violence, starvation, and lack of healthcare range broadly into the hundreds of thousands, though no authoritative figure exists. The war formally ended with the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed in Pretoria on 2 November 2022 under African Union mediation led by former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, followed by an implementation accord in Nairobi on 12 November 2022. Eritrean troop withdrawal, transitional justice, and disarmament of the TDF remained contested in subsequent months.

Frequently asked questions

Who were the main parties to the Tigray War?

The Ethiopian federal government (ENDF), Eritrean forces, and Amhara regional militias on one side, against the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the Tigray Defense Forces on the other.

How did the Tigray War end?

With the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed in Pretoria on 2 November 2022, mediated by the African Union under Olusegun Obasanjo, and a follow-up implementation accord in Nairobi on 12 November 2022.

Why was humanitarian access such a contentious issue?

A de facto blockade restricted food, fuel, medicine, banking, and communications into Tigray for much of the war, and UN agencies repeatedly warned of famine conditions affecting millions of civilians.

Research Tigray War like a delegate

Timeline

Research it like a delegate

Ask a follow-up about Tigray War

Go deeper than the definition

Take Tigray War beyond the glossary

Research Tigray War like a delegate

Timeline

Research it like a delegate

Ask a follow-up about Tigray War

Frequently asked questions

Who were the main parties to the Tigray War?

How did the Tigray War end?

Why was humanitarian access such a contentious issue?

Go deeper than the definition

Take Tigray War beyond the glossary

Frequently asked questions

Who were the main parties to the Tigray War?

How did the Tigray War end?

Why was humanitarian access such a contentious issue?