Clashes reported near Kobo between Ethiopian army and TPLF forces
Clashes have been reported near the town of Kobo in northern Ethiopia between forces of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), according to Borkena. Kobo is located in the North Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, an area that has repeatedly been drawn into the wider war between the federal government in Addis Ababa and Tigrayan authorities since late 2020.
The conflict between the TPLF and the federal government, which erupted in November 2020, drew in regional forces from neighbouring Amhara and saw Ethiopian federal troops, supported by Amhara special forces and Eritrean units, push into Tigray. Fighting extended along the long border between the two regions, and Kobo and surrounding districts in North Wollo sat on or near those front lines for much of the war.
A cessation of hostilities was reached in November 2022 through an agreement signed in Pretoria, South Africa, brokered by the African Union and mediated by former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo. As part of the deal, the TPLF was required to disarm and its fighters withdrew from contested areas of Amhara. The agreement eased the immediate crisis but left several political questions unresolved.
Since the ceasefire, intermittent skirmishes and security incidents have continued to be reported in border areas of the Amhara Region, where multiple armed actors operate, including federal troops, Amhara regional forces and local militias. The Amhara authorities have at times been at odds with the federal government over the disarmament of regional special forces, complicating the security picture.
Kobo, an agricultural trading hub in the Wollo highlands, has been particularly exposed to the fallout from the conflict, with residents displaced during the worst phases of the war and humanitarian access constrained. Borkena did not provide casualty figures or further operational details in its initial report.
Sources
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