Fighting between Ethiopian government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) escalated Thursday, raising fears that a fragile 2022 peace agreement could collapse.

The renewed clashes began Wednesday in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, with the TPLF describing the situation as a full-scale war.

Ethiopia’s military claimed it had launched a counteroffensive that killed 272 TPLF fighters and wounded about 260 others, though the figures could not be independently verified.

The African Union, United Nations and other international observers have called for restraint and a return to dialogue to prevent further escalation, the DW has reported.

The renewed conflict comes after the TPLF’s 2020 rebellion led to a two-year war that killed an estimated 500,000 people through violence, famine and the collapse of health services.