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Ethiopian army officials stated that federal forces repelled attacks launched by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and allied groups in northern areas following the outbreak of fighting on Wednesday. A humanitarian source in the Afar region told AFP that Tigrayan forces used heavy artillery in an attempt to seize the town of Yallo near the Tigray border. The African Union Commission chairperson called for immediate de-escalation and a return to dialogue between the parties according to a statement issued after the initial reports of clashes.
Residents in Mekelle reported to the BBC that Tigrayan forces had assumed control of the city’s airport from national police early on Wednesday after the TPLF seized three airports in the region. Ethiopian Airlines subsequently cancelled all flights to Tigray the national carrier announced. One resident named Fitsum described the local mood as distressed because of ongoing economic pressures including denied budgets to civil servants and banks running out of cash adding that any cutoff in communications would place people in grave danger given the reliance on mobile banking.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front announced an alliance with six other armed groups including the Fano militia and Oromo Liberation Army on September 21 to challenge the federal government according to a joint statement from the newly formed coalition. Getachew Reda an adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and former head of Tigray’s interim administration accused Tigrayan fighters of launching offensives into the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions. Tigrayan authorities countered that their forces had entered a defensive war after federal drone strikes in the preceding days a claim that remains unverified by independent outlets.
The United Nations has previously estimated that the 2020-2022 Tigray conflict killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions of people with reconstruction still ongoing in the region. A June 2026 analysis highlighted how Tigray was entirely excluded from national elections amid rising tensions and reports of forced recruitment by local forces though Tigray officials denied the allegations insisting training was for self-defense. The US State Department condemned a separate drone strike on a convoy of Catholic vehicles delivering food aid that occurred on the Monday before the latest fighting escalated.
Internet monitoring groups have documented repeated restrictions in Tigray during periods of conflict with the prior war featuring one of the longest blackouts on record. Access had been slowly restored following the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement but residents now fear a return to isolation as services falter. The BBC noted it has been unable to report directly from Tigray and surrounding zones due to the developing situation.
Conflict data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project shows sporadic violence has persisted in northern Ethiopia despite the peace deal raising concerns of a broader regional spillover. The newly formed rebel alliance accused the government of war genocide mass destruction and poverty claiming the country risks disintegration without change. Ethiopian officials have rejected these characterizations while both sides continue to trade blame for initiating the current round of hostilities.
