Escalating Tigray Conflict Can Spiral into a Regional Water War

Dec 7, 2020 | Simon Wolfe
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The power and communications blackouts that followed Ethiopia’s bombing of Tigray’s regional capital, Mekelle, are an ominous sign that this conflict is far from over and risks spiralling into a full-blown civil war.

The world is rightly focused on the humanitarian plight of the innocent people in the region and the growing numbers of refugees — 40,000 and counting — who are fleeing to neighbouring Sudan. The Wa Tigrai are caught in the middle of a bitter power dispute between the former dominant tribe and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.