Armed clashes in northern Ethiopia have spread to areas of the Amhara and Afar regions, as fighting continued in Tigray and clashes broke out around the city of Abala in Afar and the outskirts of the historic city of Lalibela in Amhara. The escalation led to the suspension of flights and disruptions to internet services in parts of the north, amid residents’ fears of a return to full-scale war.
Clashes in Abala and mutual accusations over the escalation
Clashes took place between federal forces and Tigray forces overnight on Thursday and Friday around Abala, near the border with the Tigray region. A source familiar with developments on the ground said government forces had tried to repel an attack targeting the city, while fighting was also continuing in other parts of Afar.
The Afar regional government accused the Tigray People’s Liberation Front of attacking its territory and said Afar forces would defend the area in coordination with their allies. Tigray authorities, meanwhile, said their forces had entered what they described as a defensive war in response to operations carried out by the federal government using ground forces, artillery and drones.
Fighting nears Lalibela as flights are suspended
In the Amhara region, fighting spread to North Wollo and reached the outskirts of Lalibela, whose rock-hewn churches are listed as a World Heritage site. Diplomats, local residents and sources linked to allied forces reported that flights to the city were suspended on Thursday as clashes intensified around it, while some residents rushed to withdraw money in anticipation of a deterioration in the situation.
Residents said federal forces used heavy weapons from a camp inside Lalibela to target forces from the Fano movement that were advancing about 50 kilometres from the city. Accounts from the ground indicated that fighting was taking place around Lalibela, rather than inside it, during the first hours of the escalation.
Army announces toll from its operation in North Wollo
The Ethiopian army said its forces had launched a counterattack in North Wollo after forces from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and their allies attempted to advance in several areas. The army said the operation had resulted in the deaths of 272 fighters and injuries to 260 others, along with equipment losses. The figures were issued by the armed forces and could not be independently verified.
Ethiopian and diplomatic sources say Tigray forces are fighting in Amhara alongside the Fano movement, which supported the federal government during the Tigray war between 2020 and 2022 before turning against it in 2023. In Afar, Tigray forces are fighting alongside a local armed group that is part of the new opposition alliance.
Airports seized and internet cut off in the north
The fighting spread to Amhara and Afar after Tigray forces took control of three local airports in the region, including Mekelle airport. Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to Mekelle, Axum and Shire before the disruption to air travel expanded to include Lalibela as clashes approached the city. The military developments coincided with a regional internet outage in northern Ethiopia.
NetBlocks, an organisation that monitors internet connectivity, said its data showed the service had been disrupted alongside reports of communications outages in Tigray. Residents in the region began buying food, withdrawing money and storing basic necessities for fear of disruptions to supplies and services.
The escalation followed an announcement by seven opposition groups that they had formed a political and military alliance called the Ethiopian People’s Forces Alliance for Survival, which says it aims to oust Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. The alliance includes the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the Fano National Movement in Amhara, the Oromo Liberation Army, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the United Afar Revolutionary Democratic Front, and two movements from Benishangul-Gumuz.
A spokesperson for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front said cooperation among the seven groups would be political and military, and that joint operations could become necessary to achieve the alliance’s aims. He said the peace agreement signed in 2022 was no longer in force, while the Ethiopian government accused the groups in the alliance of having previously cooperated and received financial support from Eritrea, an allegation Asmara denies.
The two sides to the conflict traded blame for the outbreak of the new clashes. The federal government accused Tigray forces of launching a broad attack and taking control of official facilities and airports, while Tigray authorities said the escalation was in response to what they described as increasingly frequent government attacks and that they had ordered their forces to confront them.
The war between federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front began in 2020 before ending with the signing of the Pretoria Agreement in November 2022, mediated by the African Union.
The current escalation prompted calls from the African Union, the United Nations and the European Union to reduce tensions and return to dialogue and the peace process that ended the previous war.
