Fighting Escalates in Northern Ethiopia as Tigray Rebels Declare ‘Full-Blown War’
Fighting is intensifying in northern Ethiopia after the TPLF seized three airports in Tigray and launched attacks into Afar and Amhara. The Ethiopian army has reported casualties among Tigrayan...
Fighting is intensifying across northern Ethiopia after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) seized three airports in Tigray and launched attacks into the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions.
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Tigray rebels have described the escalation as a “full-blown war” with Ethiopia’s federal government. The renewed violence follows months of tensions and raises concerns over the survival of a 2022 peace agreement that ended a two-year war in Tigray.
Flights suspended as fighting spreads
Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to airports in Mekelle, Shire and Axum amid the deteriorating security situation. The airline’s decision affects key air links in the northern region as fighting continues.
User-generated images posted on social media showed military personnel and civilians in Abala. Separate footage from Mekelle showed cars and people on the streets after the regional airport was seized.
The available information does not provide casualty figures for civilians or Ethiopian government forces.
Army reports losses among Tigrayan fighters
The Ethiopian army said its forces carried out a counter-offensive in Amhara. It reported that 272 Tigrayan fighters were killed and 260 wounded during the operation.
Agence France-Presse said the figures could not be independently verified. No independently confirmed casualty total has been provided in the available information.
The TPLF’s reported operations in Tigray, Afar and Amhara mark a significant escalation after the peace agreement that brought the previous conflict to an end in 2022. That war lasted two years and, according to African Union estimates, killed more than 600,000 people.
Fears of a wider regional conflict
The latest fighting has raised fears that the escalation could draw neighbouring Eritrea into a wider regional conflict. It remains uncertain whether Eritrea will become involved.
The renewed violence threatens to unravel the 2022 agreement and deepen instability across northern Ethiopia, where military activity is now affecting transport links and communities in several areas.
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