Tigray forces seized Alula Aba Nega Airport in Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, on Wednesday 23 September 2026, amid rising tensions with the federal government and fears of a return to widespread fighting between the two sides. An airport employee said he was travelling to work with colleagues when the supervisor called the driver and told him that Tigray forces had taken control of the facility.
Flights cancelled after airport seizure
He added that employees were told to return home because there were no flights, while a foreign security source based in Ethiopia confirmed that the airport had been seized. A limited number of federal police officers had been guarding the airport, and their situation after Tigray forces entered the facility remained unclear.
Scattered clashes threaten Tigray de-escalation
The agreement maintained a fragile de-escalation until scattered clashes resumed in late 2025. In the following months, the federal government and the Front deployed forces near the region’s borders, while drone strikes were carried out against military sites inside Tigray, according to data from conflict-monitoring organisations.
The airport seizure came days after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front announced that it had joined a new alliance comprising seven Ethiopian groups opposed to the government. Front spokesman Michael Asgedom said cooperation among the alliance’s components was political and military, and that joint military operations could become necessary to achieve its stated goal of removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
He also said that the peace agreement signed in 2022 was no longer in force. The alliance also includes the Fano National Movement in Amhara, the Oromo Liberation Army, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, the Benishangul People’s Liberation Movement and the Gumuz Peoples Democratic Movement.
Opposition alliance announces political and military cooperation
The Ethiopian Media Authority accused Tigray TV, which broadcast the alliance announcement, of operating illegally and promoting rebellion. The development followed an announcement by the federal army on 18 September that about 300 Front fighters had surrendered in the Tekeze River area. The army said those who surrendered handed over more than 280 individual and crew-served weapons, along with various types of ammunition.
Front deputy leader Amanuel Assefa declined to comment, describing the matter as military in nature. The Ethiopian army also accused the Front’s leadership of preparing for a new war and recruiting young people from the region, while rights reports referred to cases of forced recruitment during the current year.
The federal authorities also accused the Front of forming alliances with Eritrea and armed Ethiopian groups, while Front officials had previously said they were prepared to cooperate with parties fighting the federal government.
Tigray continues to suffer the effects of the previous war, with about one million people remaining displaced and several aspects of the peace agreement yet to be implemented. Meanwhile, the federal government has strengthened its drone capabilities since the end of the previous round of fighting.
