Civil War engulfs Ethiopia’s Tigray region

Ethiopia (MNN) — On Tuesday afternoon, an explosion rocked the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray province, killing two civilians and injuring many more.

It’s another tragedy in the civil war that has erupted in Ethiopia. Forces loyal to the central government clash against those loyal to the local leaders of the Tigray region in the northern part of the country. Hundreds have reportedly died in the conflict.

Tensions between Tigray and the central government escalated in June when the government delayed an election due to COVID-19. In response to the violence, over 27,000 people have fled over the border to Sudan.

Peter, a Christian worker with World Concern, works in Somalia, and he explains the situation he is seeing. “As we speak now, the great conflict continues. It has not yet affected Somalia much. But we are looking at maybe the ripple effects. Some imports, like most of the vegetables that are relied on in Somalia where we are, come from Ethiopia.”

World Concern’s work

Somalia itself struggles with unrest, especially brought on by the group al-Shabaab, which has terrorized the country since 2006.

World Concern works with people in extreme poverty or need. In many places like Somalia, Peter says, they can’t evangelize openly. “Even without talking about our faith or even about Christ, the work that we do has been able to speak volumes about the God that we serve. And to me, that has been the turning point in serving in this land. [We are] restricted, not able to talk about the faith. But the deeds that we are engaged in  speak volumes about the faith that we espouse.”

Pray many would see the love of God reflected through the work of World Concern. And pray that the civil war in Ethiopia would end soon and that a stable and lasting peace would return to the region.

 

 

The header photo shows a landscape scene in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)