Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels seize airport, clash with govt forces

Tigrayan rebels in northern Ethiopia seized control of the key regional airport in Mekelle and clashed with federal troops in the neighboring Afar region, according to multiple sources reporting to AFP on Wednesday. This marks the latest escalation of long-standing tensions that culminated in a devastating civil war from 2020 to 2022, which claimed an estimated 600,000 lives, according to African Union estimates. Recent months have seen sporadic clashes, raising fears of a resurgence of violence.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) reported fighting in Abala and Erebti, towns in Afar, with both parties claiming control over several locations, including Berhale, Erebti, Abala, Megale, Dalul, and Konoba. Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to Mekelle, Axum, and Shire airports due to the ongoing situation. A limited number of federal police are currently guarding the Mekelle airport, with their safety uncertain.

TPLF has recently joined a new alliance of anti-government armed groups, while Ethiopia faces multiple insurgencies, including in the populous regions of Oromia and Amhara. The Pretoria Peace Agreement, which ended the previous civil war in 2018, has not provided a lasting peace, and federal forces have launched drone strikes in Tigray, massing troops at the regional border.

Humanitarian sources have reported a campaign of forced recruitment by the TPLF in the region, with around one million people still displaced from the last conflict.