In a recent interview with Addis Ababa’s bi-weekly newspaper, The Reporter, US Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin Massinga sent a clear message to the leaders of both the Prosperity Party and the TPLF. He said it is “more than time for politicians and politics to take a back seat” so that the survival and well-being of ordinary citizens can come first.
After fighting broke out again in northern Ethiopia on 23 September 2026, Ambassador Massinga spoke directly about the failure of peace efforts. He said the United States has not contacted the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) since the fighting resumed, calling it “their choice.” With new armed groups like the “Alliance for Survival” forming and reports of threats to civilian infrastructure, including regional airports, the Ambassador’s comments suggest a move toward more accountability.
But ending engagement so suddenly points to a bigger problem with how Washington has handled the TPLF in the past. The U.S. has faced criticism for being too lenient with armed groups, which may have encouraged risky behaviour. By allowing the TPLF to delay alleged progress on disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) under the Pretoria Agreement, Washington helped create a power vacuum. Cutting off contact after fighting resumed is not a real strategy; it reflects a diplomatic failure. Calling the TPLF’s renewed military actions simply a “choice” ignores the West’s reluctance to enforce agreements on both sides, which helped the conflict restart.
These policy failures are even clearer given the high human cost. The Ambassador said he had “hope,” adding that “now is the time for Tigray to move ahead.” But for people who have just faced severe shortages of food, medicine, and fuel because of a blockade by a regime hell-bent on reducing Tigray to the Prime Minister’s backwater hometown of Beshasha, this optimism seems out of touch with reality. Instead of directly addressing the new security crisis, diplomatic statements risk relying on standard phrases that fail to convey how urgent the situation really is.
Words alone cannot stop the rise of new armed groups. The Ambassador is right: ordinary Ethiopians are sick and tired of ongoing conflict, displacement, and reliance on emergency aid.
