The Washington Post:

Ethiopian security officials are conducting a massive operation across the country that has led to the arrests of more than 4,500 people in one region alone. The crackdown on journalists, activists and others, dubbed a “law enforcement operation,” came into effect after the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on May 20 cited the need to “protect citizens and ensure the survival of the nation.”

Deutsche Welle:

Observers of Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict have seen encouraging signs of peace in the past few months. 

The truce announced by Ethiopia’s federal government is still holding nearly two months after it was announced. 

Tigray fighters, who have been battling a coalition of federal forces and regional militias since November 2020, have largely withdrawn back into the northern Tigray region from neighboring Afar.

There have been reports of sporadic reports of fighting in the Amhara region, which also borders Tigray, as well as in western Tigray, which is under Amhara region administration, but it is unclear who is involved and who is to blame. 

By and large, though, there has been a “pause in large-scale fighting,” finds the International Crisis Group, an independent think tank, in an April analysis of the situation in Ethiopia.

This “has generated cautious optimism,” the analysis finds.

The US State Department also speaks of “encouraging actions” that have laid the groundwork for peace in past months, including the government’s lifting of the state of emergency and its release of some political prisoners, as well as the delivery of “desperately needed food aid to war-affected communities.”

But there are concerns that if more isn’t done and done soon, full-scale conflict could flare up again.