Ethiopian Airlines restarts Tigray flights following brief suspension

Ethiopian Airlines has resumed flights to the northern Tigray region, an airline official said on Tuesday, days after suspending them following clashes between regional and national forces that had raised fears of renewed conflict.

Ethiopia's national army fought fighters from the Tigray People's Liberation Front for two years until late 2022, in a war that researchers say killed hundreds of thousands through direct violence, the collapse of healthcare and famine.

Clashes broke out in disputed western Tigray last week, according to diplomatic and government sources.

Ethiopian Airlines later announced on January 29 it had cancelled flights to the northern territory of Tigray.

On Saturday, one person was killed and another injured in drone strikes in Tigray, a senior Tigrayan official and a humanitarian worker said.

The Tigray war ended with a peace pact in November 2022, but disagreements have continued over a range of issues, including contested territories in western Tigray and the delayed disarmament of Tigray forces.