Ethiopia has accused Sudan, Egypt and other external powers of supporting armed groups fighting its troops, as clashes between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government resumed.

Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, Ethiopia’s army commander, said the forces confronting Ethiopian troops were organised and allied to serve external interests. Speaking on the army’s YouTube channel on Sunday, he said the groups could not make military gains unless they were “backed, supported and supplied by Sudan, Egypt and other external powers”.

The Sudanese military rejected the allegation as “baseless”. It instead claimed that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been fighting Sudan’s military since 2023, was receiving support from inside Ethiopian territory, including training, supplies and military activity involving drones.

Fighting and competing territorial claims

Fighting between the TPLF and Ethiopia’s federal government resumed on Wednesday, according to the source report. The latest clashes have revived concerns about a return to the conflict that lasted from 2020 to 2022 and was estimated to have caused 600,000 deaths.

The TPLF seized airports and launched attacks into the Afar and Amhara regions, describing its campaign as a “defensive war” against the government. The group had also allied with six other armed groups in an alliance announced the previous week. The alliance was described as seeking to overthrow Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.

An unnamed source who spoke to Al Jazeera Arabic said the Ethiopian army had seized Alamata and was advancing towards Mekhoni and Maychew. Those claims were not independently confirmed in the source material.

AFP news agency reported that TPLF fighters had taken control of Erebti in Afar and were advancing towards Afdera, about 100km (60 miles) away. That reported advance was also attributed to AFP and was not independently verified.

The TPLF’s offensive in Afar was described as aimed at cutting supply lines from Djibouti, which is the source of most of Ethiopia’s imports, including fuel.

Communications disruption and drone strike

Tigrai TV’s headquarters in Mekelle was hit by a drone on Sunday, according to the source report. The station was described as a key outlet for rebel authorities in the city.

Ethiopia’s government said Tigrai TV’s operations had been suspended indefinitely. The federal government had not commented on the drone strike.

Telecommunications providers reported major disruptions to phone and internet services in Tigray from Friday. The cause of the communications blackout remained unclear.

Malcolm Webb, reporting on the situation, said it was not known whether the federal government was responsible or whether the TPLF was attempting to prevent electronic communications from being used in targeting drone strikes.

A spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “particularly troubled by reports of the use of drones as well as incidents of harm to civilians”. No confirmed casualty figures were available in the source material.

The renewed fighting comes as Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt exchange allegations over support for armed groups. The claims by the Ethiopian and Sudanese sides have not been independently verified.