Tigray crisis: Ethiopian stature and regional stability at risk

Ethiopia has long prided itself on its independence – as the one African nation to repel Western colonizers and foreign interference as others became battlegrounds for competing powers.

But as Ethiopia prepares to lay siege to its restive Tigray region, what was once billed as a policing operation by a newly assertive central government is threatening to become a regional affair whose outcome will be felt across the Horn of Africa and beyond.

And, with a new refugee crisis already brewing, the pressure is on reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to swiftly wrap up the fighting to prevent already-mobilizing regional and international actors from using the conflict to further their own agendas.

Ethiopia’s ascendance as a regional power and the very peace accord that won Mr. Abiy international acclaim are suddenly at stake. The war is