Tigray Forces Seize Airports, Ethiopian Airlines Suspends Flights Amid Renewed Fighting

Ethiopia's government and the party controlling the northern Tigray region accuse each other of launching offensives.

Getachew Reda, a cabinet minister and adviser to Ethiopia's prime minister, stated Tigrayan fighters took control of federally administered airports in Tigray and launched offensives in neighboring Afar and Amhara regions. Tigrayan authorities said their forces entered a defensive war following reports of drone strikes in Tigray. Residents of Mekelle, Tigray's main city, reported local forces took over the city's airport from national police early Wednesday.

Following the seizure of airports, Ethiopian Airlines cancelled all flights to Tigray, including to Mekelle, Shire, and Axum. The state-owned carrier announced the suspension on social media due to the current situation in Tigray region. Two local sources confirmed Tigrayan forces took control of Mekelle airport from federal police in an overnight operation. An airport employee and a Western embassy security source also cited Tigrayan forces seizing Alula Aba Nega International Airport in Mekelle by Wednesday.

The Tigray regional government stated its army has been instructed to counter the attack and genocidal invasion launched against them, and has entered into a defensive battle. This followed what it described as intensive bombardments by federal forces on Tuesday, involving aircraft, drones, and artillery. Humanitarian staff in Afar reported fighting broke out in Abala and Erebti late Tuesday between the TPLF and federal forces.

A foreign security source confirmed clashes and said the TPLF controlled Abala. The new fighting shatters a four-year-old peace deal that ended a 2020-2022 civil war between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and federal forces. That conflict killed an estimated 600,000 people, according to African Union estimates. The outbreak follows months of growing animosity and accusations of peace deal violations.

On Sunday, September 21, the TPLF announced an alliance with six other armed groups in Ethiopia, forming the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, with the stated objective of removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government. Billene Seyoum, Abiy’s spokesperson, accused the alliance of collaborating with financial backing from Eritrea.