What is contested, and why
The boundary dataset this Atlas uses — the UN OCHA Common Operational Dataset for Ethiopia — carries one first-level area designated simply “Contested” (p-code ET99). It covers 18,699 km² in 3 parts (the source names them only “Area 1–3”), containing 18 woredas. The Atlas shows it exactly as published, in neutral gray. The Atlas displays the designation because it appears in the source dataset; this does not imply a position on administrative or territorial status.
What the woreda names tell us
The 18 woredas the source places in this area include Kafta Humera, Korarit and Tselemti — the territory commonly called Western Tigray or Welkait–Tsegede–Humera — and Alamata, Korem and Chercher, the area known as Raya. Both are claimed by the Tigray and Amhara regional states: administered as part of Tigray under the 1995 federal arrangement, under changed administration since the 2020–2022 northern Ethiopia conflict. The 2022 cessation-of-hostilities agreement signed in Pretoria committed the parties to resolving contested areas in accordance with the constitution; their status remains unresolved.
Woredas in the contested area
Figures computed from OCHA COD-AB (April 2026). Background: AU — Pretoria agreement (2022) · International Crisis Group — Ethiopia · CFR Global Conflict Tracker. Consistent with this site's standing rule, no casualty or displacement figures are quoted here. The Atlas takes no position on administrative or territorial status.