Fighting widens across Ethiopia as Tigray clashes escalate

September 24, 2026 at 05:25 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Fighting between Ethiopian federal forces and Tigrayan fighters spread from Tigray into Afar and Amhara regions on Wednesday. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) seized three airports and captured the Afar district capital of Abala, while Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights across Tigray. The escalation came days after seven armed movements, including the TPLF, formed an alliance to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government.

Key Facts

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) seized control of three airports from federal police on Wednesday.
Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights across Tigray after Tigrayan forces seized airports in the region.
Seven armed movements, including the TPLF, announced the formation of the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government.
The regional bloc IGAD called for hostilities to cease and direct dialogue to resume.
About 750,000 people were already internally displaced in Tigray because of the earlier war, according to UN migration data.

Military Escalation

Fighting intensified across parts of Tigray and later spread to the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions, pitting federal forces against several armed groups. The Tigray Army said the federal government had launched a "full-scale offensive" involving infantry, mechanised units and drones, and said its forces had begun counteroffensive operations. Ethiopia's army said it repelled attacks from Tigrayan forces and their allies in parts of the north, adding that its soldiers inflicted heavy casualties and seized weapons. The army said hostilities began in an area of Amhara region close to the border with Tigray. A humanitarian source in Afar told AFP that Tigrayan forces launched heavy artillery attacks as they attempted to take control of the town of Yallo, near the border with Tigray.

Political Alliance

The intensification came days after seven armed movements from across Ethiopia, including the TPLF, announced the formation of the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival, which committed itself to removing Abiy's government. The coalition brought together the Amhara Fano National Movement and the Oromo Liberation Army, alongside other movements from Somali, Afar and Benishangul-Gumuz areas. In a statement issued as the fighting widened on Wednesday, the alliance said the federal government was attacking its member forces on several fronts and presented their response as part of the broader struggle that had brought the coalition together. Getachew Reda, a former senior TPLF figure who now advises Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, accused the TPLF of launching the attack.

International Response

The regional East African bloc IGAD called for hostilities to cease and direct dialogue to resume. The United Nations expressed concern over the formation of the new armed coalition and reports of drone attacks. TPLF vice-president Amanuel Assefa said, "We are in the situation of full-blown war now."