Pretoria Peace Agreement Falters Amid Rising Ethiopia, Eritrea Tensions

The Horn of Africa remains a region of critical instability nearly two years after the Pretoria Peace Agreement aimed at ending the war between Ethiopia's federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, with key peace provisions largely unfulfilled and renewed tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The fragile peace is undermined by factional rivalries, incomplete disarmament, unresolved territorial disputes, and a lack of sustained international enforcement or pressure, leaving over a million displaced and political uncertainty in Tigray. In parallel, Ethiopia faces significant challenges in its education system, as highlighted by Education Minister Birhanu Nega, who acknowledged systemic failures and the controversial national university exit exam that has seen over 2.3 million students fail, sparking debate on accountability and reform. On a different note, Ethiopia's rich heritage as the cradle of humanity is underscored by the National Museum of Ethiopia's extensive paleoanthropological collection, which has enabled local scientific expertise to flourish by retaining fossils domestically rather than exporting them abroad. Meanwhile, efforts to incorporate Ethiopian indigenous knowledge, such as the ancient intellectual tradition of Qiné, into global health and medical education research reflect ongoing attempts to decolonize scholarship and include diverse epistemologies. Together, these developments illustrate Ethiopia's complex landscape of political, educational, and cultural transformation amid enduring regional challenges.