Ethiopia: Who could bring the warring sides to the negotiation table?

Just four years after a landmark peace deal officially halted the devastating Tigray war, fighting has escalated once again in northern Ethiopia in recent weeks. Just days before full-scale fighting resumed, several armed groups which had previously considered each enemies formally announced an alliance with a common goal: To bring down Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's federal government. But this time, the lay of the land looks quite different from the previous conflict: Parties outside the country have been accused of meddling in the situation, with each having their own motives to want to destabilize Abiy's government. This has raised fears about prolonged instability hitting the Horn of Africa.