When atrocities return: The cost of failed accountability in Tigray

Amnesty International says impunity for past abuses has left civilians vulnerable as fighting returns to Tigray.By Mohamed Ghulam MohammaduPublished On 6 Aug 20266 Aug 2026When Ethiopia’s federal government and Tigrayan forces signed the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in November 2022, it appeared that one of Africa’s deadliest conflicts had finally come to an end.The guns fell silent, reconstruction began, and millions of Ethiopians hoped the postwar period would bring justice for atrocities committed during the conflict.Amnesty International argues that those hopes were never realised.Instead of investigating abuses documented by international and local human rights organisations, accountability efforts steadily unravelled. International investigative mandates were allowed to expire, the Ethiopian government abandoned its proposed transitional justice process, and allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity remained largely uninvestigated and unpunished.Today, less than four years after the agreement was signed, fighting has returned to Tigray.Amnesty says the clashes that erupted in early August between Tigrayan forces and the Ethiopian National Defence Force are a...