A Political Solution Is the Only Way: Crisis Escalates in Ethiopia Amid War, Famine & Elections

An Ethiopian military bombing of a marketplace in the Tigray region killed at least 64 people in one of the deadliest attacks since government forces invaded the region last November. The bombing came just a day after Ethiopians voted in national and regional elections, but polls could not open in some areas due to ongoing fighting. The country is still waiting for results that will determine if the ruling coalition, led by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, stays in power. Thousands of people have been killed, and an estimated 2 million people have been displaced, since Ahmed ordered the Ethiopian military to invade Tigray, which is home to Ethiopia's former governing party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front. The invasion has led to massive food shortages, with aid groups warning 350,000 people in Tigray are on the brink of famine. Both the famine and the bombing are not separate things from what has been happening in Tigray for the last eight months," says Ethiopian journalist Tsedale Lemma, who says what was cast as a minor enforcement" action has morphed into a civil war" with no clear resolution. The war is not ending. There is no end in sight," says Lemma.