After battlefield reversals, what next for Ethiopia’s Tigray war?

Questions loom over the next phase of a brutal conflict that has left civilians at risk of famine.

The capture of Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, by Ethiopian forces in late November was depicted by the government in Addis Ababa as the finishing blow to forces loyal to the northern region’s former government. But on June 29, seven months after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared victory, his troops vacated Mekelle amid battleground defeats following the launch of a major counteroffensive by the Tigrayan forces. Hours after the evacuation of the city, Ethiopia announced that it had enacted a unilateral ceasefire, ostensibly for humanitarian reasons.