Fears of renewed conflict in Ethiopia

Residents of Alamata, a city that straddles Ethiopia's Tigray and Amhara regions. say a growing military presence have them fearing renewed fighting.

The city is one of the most contested areas since the Tigray War . Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF)  forces took control of it at the start of this year, after Ethiopian federal troops withdrew.

One Alamata resident who requested anonymity for safety reasons said: "The TPLF forces have deployed many troops on the Raya front and have been instructed to be ready for war."

"In most areas of the city, you can only see soldiers," another Alamata resident, Ato Gebru TsefaEzigi, told DW. "It seems like a military city."

Alamata is the central hub of the Raya valley, which straddles the Tigray and Amhara regions and alongside.  It includes the districts of Raya Azebo in the Tigray region and Raya Kobo in the Amhara region.

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In a statement on August 2, the regional government in Tigray said its forces had repelled an "open military offensive against the Tigray Security Forces in the vicinity of Shererina, Western Tigray" by Ethiopian federal forces.

It also stated that the federal forces were supported by forces belonging to Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) . DW could not independently verify the claims.