Ethiopia fighting intensifies in Tigray as pro-government forces claim advances toward Mekelle
An armed group aligned with Ethiopia's government has said it is close to taking full control of the northern Tigray region, as residents reported federal forces moving closer to the regional capital, Mekelle. The claim was made by the commander of the Tigray Peace Forces late on Thursday and could not be independently verified. It comes amid renewed fighting that has spread across parts of northern Ethiopia after weeks of rising tension.
Sponsored
The commander said Tigray People's Liberation Front forces had been wiped out, while the TPLF chairperson, Debretsion Gebremichael, acknowledged that federal forces had occupied some parts of the region. He said his forces would counter-attack in due course. The supplied report says pro-government forces have made rapid advances since fighting erupted last week, and that hostilities resumed in September after the apparent collapse of the 2022 peace deal.
The fighting is significant because it is unfolding in a region that was already deeply affected by the 2020-2022 war, which ended with a peace agreement that now appears to have broken down. The report says seven armed and political groups formed an alliance on 20 September aimed at removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's administration and establishing an inclusive transitional government. It also says the African Union reported last month that Tigrayan forces had seized airports in Mekelle, Axum and Shire and detained federal personnel, disrupting civilian air services.
The latest claims also point to a wider and more fragmented conflict picture. The supplied material says fighting has spread from southern Tigray into neighbouring Amhara and Afar, while Ethiopian military officials have accused Eritrea, Egypt and Sudan of supporting the Tigrayan-led alliance. Those allegations have not been verified in the supplied rows, but they underline the regional sensitivity of the conflict and the risk of further escalation.
Sponsored
The report adds that the Tigray Peace Forces are now fighting alongside Ethiopian federal forces, while the original TPLF still holds several towns and maintains a strong link with Eritrea along more than 800 kilometres of frontier. That has raised the prospect of the conflict becoming, in part, an internal struggle among Tigrayans themselves. It also comes against a deteriorating humanitarian situation for millions in the region, with civilian movement and air services already disrupted.
What remains unclear is how far federal forces have advanced toward Mekelle, whether the TPF's claim of near-total control can be substantiated, and how the TPLF will respond on the ground. It is also not yet clear whether the fighting will draw in additional regional actors or prompt any new mediation effort. The next developments to watch are battlefield confirmation, any official response from the federal government, and whether the conflict spreads further beyond Tigray.
Fighting in northern Ethiopia has widened across Tigray, Amhara and Afar, with government-aligned forces saying they captured the strategic town of Alamata on 28 September. Tigrayan forces have also pushed into Afar, according to the supplied report, while clashes continue on several fronts rather than a single battlefield. The latest developments point to a conflict that is no longer confined to one region.
Telecommunications have been cut across much of Tigray and commercial flights have been suspended, disrupting movement, family contact and humanitarian operations. The report says the town of Alamata is a supply hub for troops, fuel and food near the border with Amhara, making its control strategically important. It also says drone strikes hit the town on 22 September, including schools and a hospital, according to the conflict monitor ACLED.
Sponsored
The fighting matters because it threatens to destabilise a wider stretch of northern Ethiopia and could affect the Semera-Djibouti corridor, the country's main route for imports including fuel. Ethiopia's army chief has accused Eritrea, Sudan's army and Egypt of backing armed groups, allegations all three countries deny. The report says Egypt has said it strictly respects the sovereignty of neighbouring states, underscoring the diplomatic sensitivity of the claims.
The conflict is unfolding almost four years after a peace deal ended a devastating two-year war in Tigray, but the current violence has spread beyond that original front. The supplied material says seven Ethiopian armed and political groups announced an alliance on 20 September aimed at removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and establishing an inclusive transitional government. That alliance, called the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces, adds another layer to an already fragmented security picture.
The report also places the latest fighting in the context of disputed territory and shifting alliances in northern Ethiopia. It says there are active fronts in western Tigray near the Tekeze River, in northern Amhara around Kobo, Gidan and Sekota, and along the Tigray-Afar border near Erebti and Abala. What remains unclear is how far the fighting will spread, whether the accusations of outside backing will lead to further escalation, and whether any new mediation effort will emerge.
More than 50 people have been killed since heavy fighting resumed in northern Ethiopia last week, according to the supplied report, as tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea escalated into a formal diplomatic break. Ethiopia said it was closing its embassy in Asmara and expelling 10 Eritrean diplomats within 48 hours, accusing them of activities that threatened national security. Eritrea then announced that it was severing diplomatic relations, saying Ethiopia's move left it with no choice but to respond in kind.
The rupture came after powerful explosions were heard overnight in Addis Ababa, including near Ethiopia's military headquarters, adding to concern that the conflict is widening beyond the northern front. Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of supporting an alliance of armed groups fighting the government, an allegation Eritrea has repeatedly denied. The latest fighting involves Ethiopian federal forces and fighters from the Tigray People's Liberation Front, along with allies across parts of Tigray, Afar and Amhara.
The dispute is significant because it links a diplomatic crisis directly to an active battlefield and raises the risk of a broader regional confrontation. The supplied report says the current hostilities are the most serious since the peace agreement that ended the devastating Tigray war in 2022. That earlier conflict was estimated by an African Union mediator to have killed about 600,000 people over two years, underlining the scale of the instability now returning to the Horn of Africa.
Eritrea has severed all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia after a rapid exchange of expulsions and embassy closures between the two neighbours. Ethiopia said it will close its embassy in Asmara and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats persona non grata, ordering them to leave within 48 hours. The move comes as fighting involving Ethiopia's federal forces and a coalition of armed opposition groups intensifies.
Eritrea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had "no option" but to reciprocate and break diplomatic relations, describing the consequences as significant. Ethiopia said the Eritrean diplomats, including the charge d'affaires and officials accredited to the African Union, were involved in activities that posed a direct threat to national security. Eritrea rejected the accusations as "astounding" and said Ethiopia had pursued an agenda of "incessant hostility".
The dispute has sharpened alongside renewed clashes in Ethiopia, where explosions were heard in Addis Ababa on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the supplied report. Fighting has also been reported in the northern Afar region, and the chief administrator there said Eritrean soldiers had crossed into Afar to join the offensive. The row is now tied directly to the wider security crisis, rather than remaining a purely diplomatic disagreement.
The rupture matters because it involves two states with a long and volatile history, and because both sides are linking diplomacy to battlefield developments. Ethiopia accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting an opposition alliance led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front, while Eritrea accused Ethiopia of hosting, training and arming Eritrean opposition groups. Those claims, if sustained, point to a widening regional confrontation with implications beyond the bilateral relationship.
The latest escalation also follows the 2020-2022 civil war in Ethiopia, which ended only after a major conflict that reshaped relations in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea fought alongside Ethiopia's federal government during that war, but the relationship has since deteriorated. The current fighting is described in the supplied material as the biggest escalation since that conflict ended, underlining how quickly the security environment has worsened.
What remains unclear is whether the diplomatic break will lead to further military or economic measures, or whether any third-party mediation will emerge. The immediate focus is on the ordered departure of the Eritrean diplomats and the closure of Ethiopia's embassy in Asmara. The next developments to watch are whether the fighting in Afar and elsewhere expands further and whether either government issues additional formal steps.
Sponsored
