{
  "id": 9332552,
  "title": "Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels seize airport, clash with govt forces",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/ethiopias-tigray-rebels-seize-airport-clash-with-govt-forces-9332552",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-23T11:04:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/09/23/ethiopia-s-tigray-rebels-seize-airport-clash-with-govt-forces"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nTPLF 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.",
  "summary": "There has been fighting since Tuesday night in Abala and Erebti (in Afar) between Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and federal forces, raising fears of a return to full scale war.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 8,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Ethiopian Airlines cancels flights to Tigray amid concerns over renewed fighting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/ethiopian-airlines-cancels-flights-to-tigray-amid-concerns-over",
        "published": "2026-09-23T08:33:13.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Ethiopian Airlines suspends flights to three northern Tigray airports",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/ethiopian-airlines-suspends-flights-to-three-northern-tigray-airports",
        "published": "2026-09-23T09:58:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Maverick",
        "title": "Ethiopian Airlines suspends flights to Tigray region after takeover of Mekelle airport",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/ethiopian-airlines-suspends-flights-to-tigray-region-after-takeover",
        "published": "2026-09-23T10:30:41.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Euronews",
        "title": "Tigray rebels seize airport and clash with federal forces as fighting in Ethiopia reignites",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/tigray-rebels-seize-airport-and-clash-with-federal-forces-as-fighting",
        "published": "2026-09-23T11:03:33.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels seize airport, clash with govt forces",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/ethiopias-tigray-rebels-seize-airport-clash-with-govt-forces",
        "published": "2026-09-23T11:04:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC World",
        "title": "Tigray forces seize main airport in northern Ethiopia from police, residents tell the BBC",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/tigray-forces-seize-main-airport-in-northern-ethiopia-from-police",
        "published": "2026-09-23T11:42:52.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "DW English (Top Stories)",
        "title": "Ethiopia: Fighting resumes in Tigray",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/ethiopia-fighting-resumes-in-tigray",
        "published": "2026-09-23T12:06:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}