Residents in Ethiopia's Tigray region are increasingly alarmed by the prospect of a renewed conflict as tensions between Addis Ababa and Asmara reach a breaking point. Following reports of drone strikes on goods lorries and the suspension of flights to the regional capital, Mekele, the international community has called for an immediate de-escalation. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over the risk of a wider regional conflict. The friction intensified after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in a landmark parliamentary address on February 2, 2026, formally acknowledged atrocities committed by the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF) during the previous Tigray war. Eritrea has dismissed these claims as fabrications, while reports of EDF movements near the border continue to emerge, threatening the fragile peace in the Horn of Africa.