Tigray has been largely blockaded since the civil war began in November 2020. Half of the region’s 5.5 million people desperately need food. Aid workers report many people are dying of starvation and preventable diseases.

Brother Joshua with The Voice of the Martyrs Canada says, “We’re still in a very fragile state. We need to pray for this peace deal to be realistic on the ground since there’s a lot of opposition. There are people who still want war, opposing the peace deal.”

The two parties met in Nairobi, Kenya, to implement the cessation of hostilities. Those negotiations took place in South Africa and were signed on November 2.

The war scattered refugees around the country, and only a few have been able to return home so far.

Pray for healing

Joshua says forces in the Tigray region have struggled against the central Ethiopian government for about 50 years. “There is a lot of enmity throughout the generations, and this thing is not going to be easy for the country, coming to peaceful negotiations. So we need prayer for both parties.”

It will be a difficult rift to heal, especially with accusations of war crimes against both sides. Eritrea did not participate in the peace talks, despite sending soldiers to help the central Ethiopian government. Their soldiers have been accused of war crimes as well.

Joshua says many Ethiopian Christians are overjoyed to see the fighting end. Pray they would display Jesus’ love as they care for the hurting. Ask God to heal Ethiopia and bring lasting peace.

The header photo shows a 16-year-old boy who lost part of his leg while under artillery fire in the Tigray region last year. (Photo courtesy of Yan Boechat/VOA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons) 

The war has devasted the Tigray region, killing hundreds of thousands. Millions of people lost their homes, and a blockade has largely cut the region off from communication and aid.

Roughly 5.2 million people need aid in the region. The United Nations says the Ethiopian government has used starvation as a weapon of war.

Eritrea

Notably, Eritrea was not involved in the peace talks. Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says, “Eritrea and soldiers have been invited into Tigray on the side of the Ethiopian government. There have been allegations of atrocities committed by Eritrean soldiers. And yet the peace deal doesn’t address if they are going home.”

The Eritrean government harshly persecutes Christians, arresting and imprisoning them without trial. Some believers have endured decades in underground cells or metal shipping containers.

We reported previously about Eritrean soldiers attacking refugee camps in the Tigray region. Nettleton says, “Eritrean Christians who have fled Eritrea have crossed into Ethiopia and were living in those camps. So that has been a big concern of ours as Eritrea has become involved in this.”

“We want to know the status of Eritreans that have been in those camps.”

Pray the peace deal will hold. Ask God to strengthen Christians in the Tigray region. Nettleton says, “Tigray has been very isolated, very cut off.  The Ethiopian government has cut off the internet, and they’ve cut off electricity. They have not allowed reporters or humanitarian aid groups into the area. I don’t think we even know how desperate the needs are.”

The header photo shows an Ethiopian woman shortly after she helped bury the bodies of many civilians killed in 2021. (Photo courtesy of Yan Boechat/VOA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

State media reported the military and special forces had taken control of Chifra on Sunday, but a TPLF source says “active fighting is going on.” According to Al Jazeera, the TPLF is trying to seize control of a critical highway that brings goods into Addis Ababa.

The central government has been locked in combat with Tigray fighters and other rebel forces for the past year. See our coverage here.

Fighting increased in the past two weeks; Western embassies are now encouraging people to leave while they can as rebel forces approach Ethiopia’s capital.

“Right now, the city is quiet. We know TPLF is advancing. We’ve evacuated our staff; we’re all going online,” TeachBeyond’s Tamera Peters says.

“Everyone is holding their breath, hoping that nothing too damaging comes. These next weeks could be very, very critical. It could be a full-on civil war.”

TeachBeyond provides Gospel-centered, holistic education in communities that need it most. Learn more here. “We’re starting a program in Ethiopia right now, and I was supposed to be there teaching a Sparrow project cohort, which was canceled because of the crises,” Peters says.

“It’s been pretty intense. We know our job after this (fighting) comes to an end will be even bigger, because the needs in education will be even greater.”

Pray for the families of children in the Korah project in Ethiopia as house rent and food prices continue to rise. Open Schools’ partner organization continues to search for safer homes for these families.
(Photo, caption courtesy of TeachBeyond)

The ongoing conflict has created a massive humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia. More than nine million people need help to survive, but aid groups can only reach a small fraction because of the fighting. Commit to praying for peace in Ethiopia.

“It is a country that gets on their knees and prays – Christians, Orthodox, evangelicals – they come together as a body. [Believers] are praying for peace,” Peters says.

“Ethiopian[s] are such resilient people. They have lived through this on and off over the last decades,” she continues.

“We have a lot to learn from them – how they deal with crises, the resilience, and their huge trust in the Lord.”

Use the prompts listed alongside this report to guide your intercession, and “pray the stories that come out of the media are balanced. We don’t know what to believe anymore,” Peters says.

“It would be great to have a balanced perspective so we know how to pray better. It’s very confusing for us who want to pray right now because we don’t really know who the ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ are.”

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Gift Habeshaw/Unsplash.