As I understood it, the war arose when the TPLF attacked a federal army base, looted its weapons, and assassinated its soldiers. (There is no getting around to this; a spokesman for TPLF himself admitted executing a 'lightning attack' on the Northern Command.)
But, the conflict became protracted and bloody in part because of the weakness of the government to effectively neutralise the TPLF, the role of the International community, and the unrelenting behaviour of the rebels. Due to this, the lives of millions of civilians became endangered. And the federal government was forced to withdraw its troops and announce a ceasefire. I believe that pretty much summarises the conflict in my opinion.
(The claim that a genocide was committed in that region is, in my opinion, solely a part of extensive propaganda intended to weaken the federal government and support the rebels. Crimes and human rights violations may have been perpetrated, but certainly not anything like a genocide; it's too hard of a word to use in this case.)
Jul 02, 2021