Relations between the federal government and the Tigray regional government deteriorated after the election, and on 4 November 2020, Abiy began a military offensive in the Tigray Region in response to attacks on army units stationed there, causing thousands of refugees to flee to neighbouring Sudan and triggering the Tigray War. According to local media, up to 500 civilians may have been killed in a massacre in the town of Mai Kadra on 9 November 2020.