Fighting between Afar regional forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front continued in north-eastern Ethiopia for a fourth day along a front ranging from 80 to 90 kilometres, as the city of Abala remained under siege amid ongoing clashes and growing fears of deteriorating humanitarian conditions and an expansion of the conflict.
Front expands as fighting surrounds Abala
Artillery fire rang out near the front lines running across the hills separating the Tigray and Afar regions, where fighting is concentrated in mountainous areas along the administrative boundary between the two regions. The widening front indicates that clashes are taking place at multiple locations and are not confined to the vicinity of a single town. Abala lies in a mountainous area on the border between Afar and Tigray and has a population of more than 50,000.
The city remains under siege as fighting continues around it, heightening concerns about the situation facing civilians and their access to humanitarian aid. Agence France-Presse quoted a humanitarian source as saying that Ethiopian federal forces engaged in heavy fighting during the night of 24 and 25 September 2026 to repel an attack targeting Abala and prevent Tigrayan fighters from entering the city.
The source added that the army used a drone during defensive operations around the town. Humanitarian and security sources had reported clashes breaking out on the night of 22 September in Abala and Erbti in the Afar region. A source working in the humanitarian field said a truck loaded with food had been sent to help people displaced by the fighting, amid expectations that the clashes could spread.
Accounts of control on the ground in Afar have conflicted. While a humanitarian source said federal forces had prevented fighters from entering Abala, a former Tigray People’s Liberation Front official claimed that opposition forces had taken control of several towns in the region, including Abala, Erbti, Berhale, Megali, Dalol and Konoba. Independent sources have not confirmed these claims.
Concerns over trade and supply routes
The Afar region is of geographical and economic importance because it borders Djibouti and Eritrea and is linked to corridors used for trade and transport. The clashes have raised fears that their effects could spread to supply and trade routes if operations expand beyond the border areas with Tigray. The escalation in Afar came amid a broader wave of fighting in northern Ethiopia.
The African Union said military tensions had affected parts of southern Tigray and the Afar region, with Tigrayan forces taking control of civilian airports in Mekelle, Axum and Shire and detaining federal employees, disrupting civil aviation services.
African and UN calls for de-escalation
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chairperson of the African Union Commission, expressed concern over the renewed escalation and called on the parties to exercise the utmost restraint and immediately reduce tensions. He said the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed in Pretoria on 2 November 2022 between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front remained the basis for a political settlement and stability in the country.
The United Nations secretary-general also warned of the rapid deterioration in northern Ethiopia and the spread of fighting to areas neighbouring Tigray, calling on all parties to protect civilians and ensure unhindered access for humanitarian workers. He renewed his support for African Union efforts to bring the parties back to negotiations within the framework of the Pretoria Agreement.
Opposition alliance threatens Pretoria Agreement
The fighting coincided with the announcement of an alliance bringing together seven Ethiopian opposition groups, including the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, to challenge Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. The African Union said the formation of new political and military alliances could further destabilise the situation and undermine gains made since the end of the previous war.
The war between federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front broke out in 2020 before the Pretoria Agreement halted it in November 2022.
Renewed fighting in Afar and Tigray threatens to undermine the agreement and return the conflict to a wider area of the north.
