Clashes broke out in Ethiopia between government forces and Tigrayan forces Conflict News

Security and diplomatic sources say flights have been suspended due to ‘deteriorating’ conditions.

Clashes between Ethiopian federal government forces and Tigrayan forces have erupted in the country’s northern Tigray, a region still devastated and impoverished by full-blown war and recent major cuts in international aid.

Flights have been suspended because of the fighting, security and diplomatic sources told the AFP news agency on Thursday.

Hostilities erupted in recent days in Tsemlet, West Tigray, an area claimed by forces from the neighboring Amhara region, sources told AFP. A security source said on condition of anonymity, “The situation is deteriorating.

The Tigray WarStarting in 2020, tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions more displaced before the conflict ends in 2022.

Al Jazeera reported in recent days Hitsats in TigrayUnited States Agency for International Development (USAID) – A destitute village by humanitarian agencies that were once Ethiopia’s largest source of humanitarian aid.

But that changed abruptly a year ago when US President Donald Trump took office and promptly dismantled the agency’s work and cut funding worldwide.

Across Tigray province, humanitarian agencies including the World Food Program (WFP) say 80 percent of the population is in need of emergency aid. But cuts to USAID mean less humanitarian funding is available overall, and what’s left is often directed to hotspots and global conflict zones that are considered worst emergencies.

In Ethiopia, the largest recipient of USAID funding in sub-Saharan Africa before Trump’s cuts, funding shortfalls have created critical gaps and put more pressure on other agencies.

In Tigray, “cuts in donor funding have put additional strain on an already fragile public health system,” Doctors With Borders’ head of mission for Ethiopia, Joshua Eckley, told Al Jazeera.

“As aid actors scale back or suspend activities in the region due to funding constraints, the most vulnerable are losing access to medical care, water and sanitation services … while overall humanitarian needs are outstripping collective capacity.”

Months after USAID was suspended in Ethiopia, the US government announced it would resume some of its support to the country, but many say little has come in regions like Tigray, whose economy, as well as its population, remains devastated after years of conflict.