Just a few years ago, between 2020 and 2022, a civil war was fought in Tigray, Ethiopia’s northernmost(最北端的) region. Hundreds of thousands of people are thought to have been killed. The war pitted the armies of Ethiopia and Eritrea against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), Tigray’s ruling party. “Serious human-rights abuses” prompted America to impose an arms embargo(禁运) on Ethiopia in 2021, and to put sanctions on Eritrea’s army, senior officials and state-owned conglomerate(企业集团)s. Thankfully, the crisis is at last(终于) over, at least according to American officials. On September 18th America removed the arms embargo on Ethiopia and did not renew(续签；延长) the sanctions on Eritrea. “The national emergency [in Ethiopia] has expire(到期；失效)d,” the treasury department declared.
就在几年前，2020年至2022年间，埃塞俄比亚最北部的提格雷地区爆发了一场内战。据信有数十万人丧生。这场战争使埃塞俄比亚和厄立特里亚的军队与提格雷人民解放阵线（TPLF）——提格雷的执政党——兵戎相见。“严重的侵犯人权行为”促使美国于2021年对埃塞俄比亚实施武器禁运，并对厄立特里亚的军队、高级官员和国有企业实施制裁。所幸，这场危机终于结束了——至少美国官员是这样说的。9月18日，美国解除了对埃塞俄比亚的武器禁运，并且没有续签对厄立特里亚的制裁。财政部宣称：“（埃塞俄比亚的）国家紧急状态已经到期。”
That was curious timing(耐人寻味的时机). On September 23rd forces loyal to the TPLF seize(夺取；占领)d control of three airports in Tigray, prompting Ethiopia’s federal government to suspend(暂停；中止) flights to the region. The TPLF accused the Ethiopian army of launching an attack on southern Tigray and claimed its own forces had “entered a defensive war”. An Ethiopian official said the TPLF had in fact “launched an all-out offensive(全面进攻)” against army positions in neighbouring Amhara and Afar. At the time of publication, heavy fighting appeared to be under way(正在进行中) in both regions, as well as in southern Tigray.
这个时机耐人寻味。9月23日，效忠提格雷人民解放阵线的武装力量夺取了提格雷三座机场的控制权，促使埃塞俄比亚联邦政府暂停飞往该地区的航班。提格雷人民解放阵线指责埃塞俄比亚军队对提格雷南部发动袭击，并声称己方部队“已进入防御性战争”。一名埃塞俄比亚官员则表示，提格雷人民解放阵线实际上“发动了全面进攻”，目标是邻州阿姆哈拉和阿法尔的军队阵地。截至发稿时，这两个地区以及提格雷南部似乎都在进行激烈战斗。
Tensions between the TPLF and Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s prime minister, have been growing for more than a year. The TPLF accuses Mr Abiy of putting Tigray under a punitive(惩罚性的) siege(围困；封锁), part of a “genocidal(种族灭绝的)” campaign against its people. Mr Abiy’s government, meanwhile, says the TPLF is a “Trojan horse(特洛伊木马：暗藏杀机的礼物)” for hostile forces bent on(一心要；决心要) dismantling Ethiopia—chief among them Eritrea, with which Mr Abiy is also at daggers drawn(势同水火；剑拔弩张). In recent weeks the Ethiopian army has waged an undeclared drone war against the TPLF. And in recent days that appears to have escalate(升级；加剧)d into something approaching a second civil war.
提格雷人民解放阵线与埃塞俄比亚总理阿比·艾哈迈德之间的紧张关系已持续一年有余。提格雷人民解放阵线指责阿比对提格雷实施惩罚性围困，是其针对提格雷人民的“种族灭绝”行动的一部分。而阿比政府则表示，提格雷人民解放阵线是敌对势力的“特洛伊木马”，这些势力一心要瓦解埃塞俄比亚——其中首要的就是厄立特里亚，而阿比与厄立特里亚也势同水火。近几周，埃塞俄比亚军队对提格雷人民解放阵线发动了一场未宣战的无人机战争。近日，这场冲突似乎已升级到接近第二次内战的程度。