siyasetçi, Etiyopya
War has returned to Tigray. This time it may not stay in Ethiopia
War has returned to Tigray. This time it may not stay in Ethiopia Expert comment LToremark 1 October 2026 As fighting escalates in Tigray and neighbouring areas, there are fears that Ethiopia’s internal instability could spill over into the wider Horn of Africa region. Conflict returned to Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray on 23 September, as the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces stormed three national airports in Tigray. In what the TPLF claimed was defensive combat, ground offensives were also expanded along Tigray’s southern and eastern borders with the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions. The TPLF and its allies captured parts of Afar but lost several key areas in southern Tigray, including Alamata town. Ethiopia’s federal government forces and the allied Tigray Peace Force (TPF) are now advancing towards Mekelle, the capital of Tigray. Meanwhile, reports of drone strikes in Addis Ababa and on government-controlled airbases alters the nature of the war. Although Tigray has seen conflict before, this time there is a risk that hostilities could extend into Eritrea and Sudan. The slow creep towards renewed conflict Related work Ethiopia needs more than an election to calm internal and regional conflict The risk of renewed hostilities in Tigray had been clear for some time, given the steady decline in relations between the federal government and the TPLF. The failure to build on the Pretoria Agreement – the ceasefire deal that brought an end to the war in 2022 – was largely the result of a continued zero-sum approach by both sides, as well as weak implementation and oversight. The agreement effectively unravelled in May, when the TPLF reinstated a pre-war legislative council, with its chairman Debretsion Gebremichael named regional president. This spelled the end of the Tigray Interim Regional Administration (TIRA) – a key outcome negotiated under Pretoria. The removal of interim president, General Tadesse Werede, formerly head of the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF), followed the ouster of his predecessor Getachew Reda in late 2024. The TPLF views the recent escalation as a return to full-scale war. To an extent, they have been pushed towards a response. There is continued containment of Tigray; a lack of implementation of the Pretoria Agreement or any dispute resolution mechanism; the absence of incentives for its leadership to return to the federal fold; a weakening of TPLF legitimacy in the region; and recent drone attacks by the government in the region. But unlike in the 2020–22 war, the federal government has been more cautious and calculated in its actions as well as public messaging. The government frames the TPLF as a rogue administration that is colluding with internal opposition insurgencies and external actors to threaten Ethiopia’s territorial integrity and its own survival. The key question now is whether the government will seek to contain the conflict within Tigray and other parts of northern Ethiopia, or whether it will consider it necessary to pursue bolder options. One such option could be targeting Eritrea, which it believes to be supporting anti-government movements – something Eritrea has repeatedly denied. In a message assigning culpability to its northern neighbour, Ethiopia closed its embassy in Eritrea and expelled Eritrean diplomats. Now, much will depend on how the conflict evolves. Internal division in Tigray and a new opposition alliance The TPLF’s control over Tigrayan society has weakened significantly. Since the war ended in 2022, it has faced protests over crippling economic conditions, growing competition from rival parties and defections by leading members. In recent months, Tigrayan authorities have turned to forcibly recruiting young men into the defence forces and have cracked down on freedom of speech. For the people of Tigray, an already difficult humanitarian situation now looks set to worsen. There is deep division within TPLF too. Following the start of the military offensive, there have been reports of senior TPLF officials being arrested or defecting to Addis Ababa. Days before the fighting resumed, the TPLF and six other regional armed opposition groups – including Amhara’s Fano movement and the Oromia region’s Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) – announced a coalition called the Alliance for Survival. Their common goal is to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his Prosperity Party from power and install a transitional government. But it is not immediately clear that this uneasy tactical alliance – among groups with unresolved tensions and very different visions for Ethiopia – will result in functional cooperation. Senior leaders of Fano have publicly opposed the alliance; while a recently divided OLA may struggle with justification to its support base. There are also historical grievances between some of these groups. The TPLF have accused Fano and the Eritrean forces of grave human rights violations in Tigray four years ago, while Fano and OLA have been bitter and at times violent enemies. Risk of regional spillover Related work De-escalation is needed to prevent Ethiopia and Eritrea from going to war Opposition to the Ethiopian government also comes from beyond the country’s borders. Tsimdo is a transnational alliance which reportedly links the TPLF, the Eritrean government and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The TPLF is silently allied with its former foe, Eritrea, with supply lines chiefly secured through Tigray’s northern border. But the Eritrean government’s priority is to keep war away from its own territory, and its alleged support for opposition groups increases the risk of further regional escalation – especially with Ethiopia eyeing control over Eritrea’s Red Sea port of Assab. Meanwhile, the conflicts in Ethiopia and Sudan have also become more intertwined. The Ethiopian government has accused the SAF of backing the TPLF – which they have denied – and is increasingly unsettled by the reported presence of Tigrayan fighters alongside the SAF in eastern Sudan. It fears that the SAF, in collaboration with Eritrea, could reinforce the TPLF from across the Sudanese border – including near strategic sites like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Sudan, in turn, has accused Ethiopia of providing support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudan People’s Liberation-North (SPLM-N), including training, supplies and use of Ethiopian territory. Ethiopia’s close ally, the UAE, is also accused of supporting the RSF – although it refutes such allegations. Ethiopia’s calculus is seemingly to create a buffer on its border with Sudan. However, direct dialogue and de-escalation with the SAF would go further than retaliatory exchanges and mutual accusations of interference. Limited options for de-escalation The mediation landscape is very different from 2022. Members of the international community have called out the TPLF for their escalatory actions and urged a return to African Union (AU)-led talks. The Ethiopian government has so far controlled the narrative around this conflict, briefing foreign governments about the likely escalation ahead of the UN General Assembly. The Pretoria Agreement did not produce the broader political settlement needed for durable peace and no longer seems tenable for either side. The TPLF has repeatedly discredited the only existing mediation effort under the AU. Hardening regional rivalries and the lack of US or wider Western interest to fully support the AU with the resources and leverage needed to create a viable platform, makes a sustainable resolution to this conflict seem a long way off. Given these conditions, the conflict is likely to continue for a while. However, the danger of diplomatic inaction is that a protracted war in Tigray is likely to spill over beyond Ethiopia, into Eritrea and further into Sudan. Policymakers must find a way to take collective action to avert such a dangerous regional escalation.
War has returned to Tigray. This time it may not stay in EthiopiaReignited violence in Ethiopia threatens to engulf the entire region
Ethiopia is on the brink of another civil war. Last week, fighting between rebels and federal forces in the northern Tigray, Amhara, and Afar states left hundreds dead. These clashes may signal the start of a potentially devastating conflict in a country still recovering from a bloody civil war that killed approximately 600,000 people between 2020 and 2022. Fighting began as seven rebel groups from across various parts of the country announced the formation of a military coalition called the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival. The alliance’s expressed aim is to remove the federal government headed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali from power. Major fighting has thus far remained confined to the northern Tigray state, where the previous civil war took place. The leading rebel group, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), made significant territorial gains across the state last week, seizing control of Alula Aba Nega International Airport in the Tigrayan capital of Mekelle, as well as airports in the nearby cities of Axum and Shire. In response, Ethiopian Airlines shut down all service to those airports, cutting off much of Tigray to commercial air transit. Following advances by rebel forces in Tigray, the Ethiopian military seems to have regained some territory in recent days. On Monday, the Ethiopian government and allied militias announced they had recaptured the strategic town of Alamata, about 75 miles south of Tigray’s capital. Among those joining forces with the TPLF in this expansive rebellion is the Fano National Movement, a separatist coalition based in the country’s northern Amhara state that sided with the federal government against the TPLF in the last war. Once rivals, the TPLF and the Fano have now made common cause against the Ethiopian government. In recent years, the Fano has been actively pursuing its own effort to end the “oppression” of the Amhara region from the country’s federal government and has clashed in armed conflict with federal forces in pursuit of that end. This new alliance thus accords with the Fano’s aim of securing greater independence from what it views as an overbearing federal government. The recent uptick in violence follows months of growing tensions in Ethiopia. In May, the TPLF reclaimed control over the political administration of Tigray, arguing that the Ethiopian government had failed to follow through on its end of the Pretoria Agreement, which ended the previous civil war. In the months since, sporadic fighting between federal forces and the TPLF has sprung up throughout Tigray. And the Ethiopian government’s drone warfare — which has killed civilians — has focused the attention of human rights activists, who argue such attacks should be investigated for possible war crimes. Washington’s response to the renewed conflict has thus far mostly followed a wait-and-see approach, though growing violence in the country is beginning to attract attention on Capitol Hill. On Monday, Semafor reported that Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), are pushing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to intervene in the conflict, though it remains unclear what such an intervention could look like. The White House placed visa restrictions on unnamed TPLF officials in June following reports of clashes between the rebel group and federal forces. But just a couple weeks ago, Washington lifted sanctions on officials and the military of neighboring Eritrea — sanctions that the Biden administration had put in place during the previous war in an effort to curb Asmara’s role in that conflict. With these sanctions removed, Eritrea may find it easier to intervene in a renewed Ethiopian civil war. In another case of twisting alliances, Eritrea was aligned with Ethiopia during the previous civil war, having viewed the TPLF and its aspirations as a threat to its own interests. But growing animosity between Ethiopia and Eritrea in the years since the Pretoria Agreement was signed has pushed the small coastal country to shift its support away from the federal government in Addis Ababa and toward the TPLF. The root of the Eritrea-Ethiopia discord comes down to Ethiopia’s renewed determination to gain access to the Red Sea. Over the past couple years, Ethiopian officials have increasingly demanded free access to Eritrea’s Red Sea Port of Assab, which was under Ethiopian control until Eritrea’s independence from the country in 1993, at which time Ethiopia lost its coastline. Ethiopia has since signed an expensive agreement requiring it to pay between $1.5 and $2 billion annually in fees to neighboring Djibouti to use its Red Sea port, on which Addis Ababa relies for the vast majority of its maritime trade. Another important player in the region’s complicated geopolitical chess match is Egypt, which has a long-running dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The GERD, which was inaugurated on September 9, 2025 after about fourteen years of construction, is a massive dam upriver on the Nile that is the continent’s largest hydropower generator. Egyptian officials claim that the dam puts Egypt’s water security at risk, arguing that Ethiopia’s control of the dam will limit the amount of water that flows downstream, severely threatening Egypt’s vast irrigation system that sustains its agricultural economy. As a result, Cairo has sought to gain leverage with Addis Ababa, in part by providing diplomatic support and, at times, military assistance to those of its neighbors with which it has strained relations or even overlapping territorial claims. They includeEritrea (via diplomatic support), Sudan (via diplomatic support and possible arms sales), and Somalia (via diplomatic support and troop deployments). Sudan and Somalia themselves are in the throes of intense domestic conflicts. The Sudanese army is struggling in a brutal civil war against the Rapid Support Forces for control over the country. Meanwhile, Somalia continues its decades-long fight against armed groups while having to contend with the growing relations forming between foreign governments and multiple Somalian regions that claim independence from the central government. This tangled web of alliances, mixed with intense domestic conflicts in surrounding countries, will make it difficult to contain a Tigrayan war. A multi-layered regional war has thus become a distinct possibility. For now, the United States has little choice but to wait and see what happens, though targeted sanctions focused on entities that could fan the flames of war (such as Eritrean officials) should be considered on a case-by-case basis. But any military intervention should be entirely off the table, particularly as the United States remains preoccupied with the mess caused by its ill-planned war against Iran.
Reignited violence in Ethiopia threatens to engulf the entire regionHeavy fighting, internet disruption as Ethiopia conflict rages
Ethiopian forces battled overnight to repel an assault by Tigray rebels in the Afar region, a humanitarian source said on Friday, with reports of an internet blackout in the north of the country. Rebels in the northern Tigray region seized local airports and launched attacks into the neighbouring states of Afar and Amhara this week, saying they were once again in a “full-blown war” with the federal government. Locals fear a repeat of the telecoms blackout and supplies blockade imposed on Tigray during the last civil war in 2020-2022 that killed an estimated 600,000 people. Online monitor Netblocks said there was an “internet disruption in northern Ethiopia corresponding to reports of a telecoms blackout in Tigray”. AFP was unable to contact sources in the region by phone on Friday. A humanitarian source in Afar said there was “heavy fighting overnight” around the town of Abala that sits in the mountains on the border with Tigray. “The federal forces pushed the rebels from entering the town,” the source said, adding that a drone was used by the army. Heavy clashes occurred in North Wollo Zone of Amhara on Thursday, including around the Unesco World Heritage sites in Lalibela, home to Ethiopia’s famed rock churches. Analysts say the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) appears to be repeating its strategy from the last war — pushing south through Amhara towards the capital, Addis Ababa, while the offensive in Afar is likely aimed at cutting off supplies from Djibouti, which provides almost all of Ethiopia’s international trade cargo, including fuel. The TPLF has forged an alliance with six other armed groups around the country in a bid to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. “The alliance is likely trying to seize settlements alongside key infrastructure routes to undermine federal government’s ability to supply,” Edward Bach of consultancy firm Verisk Maplecroft told AFP. The government has a significant military advantage, however, with a large arsenal of drones, an army numbering some 500,000, and the support of external actors, notably the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The renewed fighting comes at an awkward moment for the United States, which only this month lifted sanctions on Ethiopia and Eritrea related to atrocities committed during the last civil war, saying the “national emergency… has expired”. The US embassy sided with Ethiopia’s government this week, saying it was “disappointed to see the leadership of the TPLF… launch a large-scale offensive”. The conflict could also draw in neighbouring Eritrea, which fears landlocked Ethiopia is planning to invade it to gain access to the Red Sea. Panic buying Back in Tigray, prices for basic goods have been spiking as locals raced to stock up on supplies. “There is panic in the community,” Samuel Gebreslassie, 37, who works in a spice shop in the Tigray capital, Mekelle, told AFP on Thursday. “There is deep fear that banks, telecom networks, electricity and basic goods could be cut off again.” The TPLF ruled the whole of Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018 before being sidelined with Abiy’s rise, eventually triggering a civil war marked by widespread war crimes and sexual violence. The Pretoria Peace Agreement of 2022 maintained an uneasy calm until last year, but was never fully implemented, with around one million people still displaced. Sporadic clashes then resumed, with the federal forces launching multiple drone strikes in Tigray in recent months and massing troops at the border. Rights groups have accused the TPLF of a campaign of forced recruitment this year as it prepared for renewed conflict.
Rebels seize airports, clash with govt forces in EthiopiaAfrica: Dangote, Ethiopia to Build $660m Djibouti Fuel Pipeline
[Daba Finance] Dangote Group and Ethiopian Investment Holdings will invest $660 million in a petroleum-products pipeline connecting landlocked Ethiopia with Djibouti's coast, adding new fuel storage and transport infrastructure to one of East Africa's main trade corridors. The project was announced by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed alongside Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh and Aliko Dangote.
Fears of return to war as Tigray rebels launch offensive against Ethiopian army
Fighting escalates after TPLF forms new rebel coalition aimed at overthrowing Abiy Ahmed government There are growing fears of a return to civil war in Ethiopia after an offensive by rebels from Tigray into the neighbouring states of Afar and Amhara , and the formation of a new rebel coalition aimed at overthrowing the government of the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed. Fighting from 2020 to 2022 between the Ethiopian army and the political party and paramilitary group Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) killed about 600,000 people. Both sides are now accusing the other of triggering a return to open conflict. Continue reading...
Etiyopya'da barış çöktü. Tigray güçleri topyekun savaş ilan etti
Etiyopya'nın kuzeyindeki Tigray bölgesinde silahlı gruplar federal polisin kontrolündeki üç havalimanını ele geçirerek komşu eyaletlere taarruz başlattı. Etiyopya'da federal hükümet ile ülkenin kuzeyindeki Tigray bölgesi arasındaki gerilim yeniden açık çatışmaya dönüştü. Tigray Halk Kurtuluş Cephesi (TPLF), federal güçlere karşı geniş çaplı bir taarruz başlatarak üç havalimanının kontrolünü ele geçirdi ve komşu Afar ile Amhara eyaletlerine doğru ilerleyişe geçti. TPLF Genel Başkan Yardımcısı Amanuel Assefa, Fransız haber ajansı AFP'ye yaptığı açıklamada, "Şu anda topyekun bir savaş durumundayız" dedi. Çatışmalar, 2020-2022 yılları arasında yüz binlerce insanın hayatını kaybetmesine yol açan ve Pretoria Barış Anlaşması ile sona eren iç savaşın ardından sağlanan kırılgan sükuneti tamamen bozdu. Çatışmaların fitili çarşamba günü TPLF güçlerinin federal polisin denetimindeki üç havalimanını ele geçirmesi ve komşu eyaletlere saldırılar düzenlemesiyle ateşlendi. Taraflar çatışmaları yeniden başlatmakla birbirlerini suçluyor. Afar'daki bir insani yardım kaynağı, Tigray sınırına yakın Yallo kasabasını ele geçirmeye çalışan silahlı unsurların perşembe günü ağır topçu atışları gerçekleştirdiğini bildirdi. Etiyopya merkezli yabancı bir güvenlik kaynağı ise savaşçıların yine Tigray-Afar sınırındaki Abala'nın kontrolünü sağladığını aktardı. Yabancı güvenlik kaynağı, başkent Addis Ababa'ya giden az sayıdaki güzergahtan biri olan Amhara'daki Weldiya kenti çevresinde de şiddetli çatışmalar yaşandığını belirtti. Uzmanlar, bu adımların 2020-2022 savaşındaki ikmal hatlarını kesme ve başkente ilerleme stratejisiyle örtüştüğüne dikkat çekiyor. AFP'ye konuşan Oslo Yeni Üniversite Koleji'nden bölge uzmanı Kjetil Tronvoll, TPLF'nin nihai hedefinin Addis Ababa'yı ele geçirmek olduğunu, ancak kente ulaşmak için izlenecek taktik hamlelerin henüz bilinmediğini söyledi. Tronvoll, Afar taarruzunun Etiyopya'nın yakıt dahil uluslararası ticaret kargosunun neredeyse tamamını sağlayan Cibuti ile olan ikmal hattını kesmeyi amaçladığını ifade etti. Etiyopya Cumhurbaşkanı Taye Atske Selassie Amde, çarşamba günü Birleşmiş Milletler Genel Kurulu'nda yaptığı konuşmada "yıkım ve kaos güçleri" ile "hasım unsurların iç işlerine müdahalesini" kınadı. ESKİ DÜŞMANLAR BİRLEŞTİ: TPLF ALTI SİLAHLI GRUPLA İTTİFAK KURDU Sahadaki ittifak dengeleri de son savaşa kıyasla köklü biçimde değişti. TPLF, Amhara'daki Fano milisleri dahil diğer altı silahlı grupla Başbakan Abiy Ahmed hükümetini devirmeyi hedefleyen yeni bir ittifak kurdu. Oysa önceki iç savaşta Fano milisleri ve Eritre, Tigray güçlerine karşı federal ordunun yanında yer almıştı. İki taraf, 2022'de imzalanan barış anlaşmasından duydukları hoşnutsuzluk sonrası federal hükümetten uzaklaştı. Pretoria Anlaşması, TPLF içindeki bölünmeler ve partideki şahin kanadın bölgedeki geçici yönetimi uzaklaştırarak denetimi yeniden ele almasıyla fiilen aşındı. İnsan hakları örgütleri, TPLF'yi son savaştan kalan yaklaşık bir milyon kişi halen yerinden edilmiş durumdayken yeniden silahlanmak ve insanları zorla silah altına almakla suçluyor. Federal ordu da daha önce Tigray'a insansız hava araçlarıyla saldırılar düzenlemiş ve bölge sınırına askeri yığınak yapmıştı. ÖLGESEL ÇATIŞMA RİSKİ BÜYÜYOR Çatışmaların bölgesel bir savaşa dönüşmesinden duyulan endişe artıyor. Addis Ababa yönetimi, denize kıyısı olmayan Etiyopya'nın Kızıldeniz'e, özellikle de Assab Limanı'na erişimini uzun vadeli güvenlik ve kalkınması için hayati görüyor. Eritre ise Etiyopya'nın bu hedefe askeri güç kullanarak ulaşmasından korkuyor. Etiyopya hükümeti Eritre'yi kurulan isyancı ittifaka mali destek sağlamakla itham ediyor. Reuters ajansının Eritre'nin çatışmalara dahil olup olmayacağı sorusuna yanıt veren TPLF yöneticisi Assefa, ellerinde Eritre'nin planlarına dair bilgi olmadığını söyledi ve Asmara'dan henüz askeri müdahale talep etmediklerini ekledi. Son dönemde Afrika Boynuzu en çalkantılı dönemlerinden birini geçiriyor. Etiyopya, Sudan ordusunun savaştığı Hızlı Destek Kuvvetleri'ne destek vermekle suçlanıyor ve bu suçlamaları geri çeviriyor. Eritre ise Sudan ordusuna daha yakın dururken, Etiyopya'nın Nil Nehri üzerinde inşa ettiği Hedasi Barajı'nı hayati su kaynaklarına tehdit olarak gören Mısır ile temaslarını sıkılaştırıyor. Etiyopya'nın ayrıca Türkiye, Somali ve Mısır ile farklı başlıklarda gerilimleri sürüyor. Çatışmalar, kısa süre önce son iç savaşa bağlı yaptırımları ve silah ambargolarını kaldıran ABD için de diplomatik bir güçlük yarattı. Washington yönetimi, ulusal acil durum halinin sona erdiğini duyurarak Eritre Savunma Kuvvetleri ve bağlantılı yapılara yönelik yaptırımlara son vermişti. Fakat ABD'nin Addis Ababa Büyükelçiliği, TPLF yönetiminin geniş çaplı bir taarruz başlatmasından ötürü hayal kırıklığına uğradıklarını belirterek Etiyopya hükümetine destek verdi.
Etiyopya'da barış çöktü. Tigray güçleri topyekun savaş ilan ettiRebels seize airports, clash with govt forces in Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA: Tigrayan rebels in northern Ethiopia seized control of airports and battled federal troops in neighbouring regions, multiple sources said on Wednesday, as long-standing tensions spilled into open conflict. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) fought a devastating civil war with the federal government in 2020-2022 that killed some 600,000 people, according to African Union estimates. Sporadic clashes and drone strikes in recent months have raised fears of a return to war, and the TPLF recently forged an alliance with armed groups in other parts of the vast country. The regional government in Afar confirmed the overnight attack by the TPLF on the town of Abala, which lies in mountain ranges on the border with Tigray. Humanitarian workers in Afar told this news agency of fighting between TPLF and federal forces in Abala and the town of Erebti, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) further into the region. “We are expecting it to expand. We just sent a truck with food to help the people displaced,” one said. A foreign security source said the TPLF was in control of Abala, while a former TPLF senior official said the rebels were in control of several towns in the region, which could not be independently confirmed. The federal forces are “fast-retreating”, the former official said. Conflict monitors ACLED said Tigrayan forces had also attacked positions in the Amhara region, and were working alongside a local insurgent group known as the Fano, part of the new alliance of armed groups. “Today’s episode will cause worry that the other agents in the alliance are about to act in their areas across the Ethiopian state,” ACLED said in a briefing note, though it said several of the groups have limited capabilities. The federal government in Addis Ababa, which has yet to comment on the clashes, has significant military advantages, having ramped up production of military drones since the last conflict. ‘Beginning of war’ In a statement posted on Facebook, the Tigray regional government said its actions were a response to “intensive bombardments” by federal forces on Tuesday, involving “aircraft, drones, and artillery”, which could not be independently verified. “It is the beginning of the war,” TPLF vice president Amanuel Assefa said. “Ground forces attacked us from southern Tigray, from eastern Tigray, so [Tigray Defence Forces] have been ordered to defend… I do not see the possibility of a de-escalation now,” he added. Tigrayan forces seized control of the airports in the regional cities of Mekelle, Shire, and Axum, taking prisoner the small number of federal police that guard them, Assefa said. Ethiopian Airlines said it had suspended flights to all three. “While we were on our way to the airport for work, our supervisor called the driver and told him that the airport had been taken over by Tigray forces. Since there were no flights, he told us to return home,” an employee at Alula Aba Nega Airport in Mekelle said. The African Union, which is based in Ethiopia’s capital, called for an “immediate de-escalation” of hostilities. Alliance Ethiopia faces multiple insurgencies, including in its most populous regions, Oromia and Amhara. The largest groups have joined the new Alliance for Survival, announced at the weekend. Ethiopian authorities have also accused the TPLF of allying with neighbouring Eritrea, which it denies. The TPLF ruled the whole of Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018 before being sidelined with the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, eventually triggering the civil war. Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2026
Rebels seize airports, clash with govt forces in EthiopiaConversation with Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed
President of Russia Vladimir Putin had a meeting with Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in India. The Russian delegation included Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov; Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin; Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov; Aide to the President Yury Ushakov; Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut; Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko; Minister of Economic Development and Chair of the Russian part of the of the Russian-Ethiopian Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation Maxim Reshetnikov; Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev; Deputy Minister of Energy Pavel Sorokin; Deputy Minister of Finance Ivan Chebeskov; Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Vladimir Chistyukhin; President of the Russian Fertiliser Producers Association, member of the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and Head of the Russian Segment of the BRICS Business Council Andrei Guryev, and Director General of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Alexei Likhachev. * * * President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mister Prime Minister, I am glad to meet with you again. I know that yesterday your country celebrated the New Year 2019 according to the Ethiopian calendar, and I would like to congratulate you and the entire friendly Ethiopian people on this holiday. Our today’s meeting is taking place on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. We have just delivered our speeches; everyone has spoken and described our association. Today, BRICS is a fully fledged strategic partnership designed to consolidate the positions of the global majority and shape the outlines of a just, multipolar international order. Since January 1, 2024, Ethiopia has been a full-fledged member of the group and we are very glad about it. It is symbolic that the beginning of our Ethiopian friends’ practical work within the BRICS mechanisms coincided with the beginning of Russia’s chairmanship. Since then, Ethiopia has been making a constructive contribution to its diverse activities. As for the bilateral relations, as you mentioned, we have now discussed almost everything while we were riding in the car, and I would like to point out again that Ethiopia is a long-standing and reliable partner of Russia on the African continent. I can state with satisfaction that Russian-Ethiopian ties continue to develop based on the principles of equality and mutual benefit. I want to thank you, Mr Prime Minister, for your personal contribution that you are making to strengthen our ties. We have achieved a rapid growth in mutual trade. In 2025, it more than tripled and continues to grow. This is a good indicator. We pay considerable attention to humanitarian cooperation. More than 20,000 of your citizens have received an education in Russia and this provides a very good foundation for our future humanitarian ties. Of course, Russia attaches particular importance to the comprehensive development of relations with African countries in general. Ethiopia has actively participated in the Russia-Africa summits. This year, as we agreed, we look forwards to your visit for the third summit, which is to be held in Moscow on October 28–29, and we will hold another bilateral meeting. Today, we have the opportunity to discuss the entire range of our relations. I am very glad to meet with you. Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed: Mr President, as always, it is a great honour to have the opportunity to see you. We have been discussing so many critical issues. Mr President, I valued our time together in Moscow. Since our last meeting, things have been going so well. Our trade has grown several times. I hope there is a big room to grow still. A month ago, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Mr Lavrov, came to Ethiopia. We sent him back with a “seven-year discount”. He was old when he came, but he came back younger because we are in 2019. He came as 2026, and he went back younger, ready to serve you for longer. Mr President, things have been going very, very well since our last meeting. In terms of our military cooperation, trade exchange, investment and, as you have said, scholarships for students, we are very grateful for our bilateral relationship, as well as in the multilateral aspect. Mr President, without your support, Ethiopia cannot be a member of the BRICS. We are always grateful for that. We know what you have done and we are grateful. I am sure we will pay back when the time comes. Thank you very much for our meeting, Mr President. Mr President, as always, it is a great honour to have the opportunity to see you. We have been discussing so many critical issues. Mr President, I valued our time together in Moscow. Since our last meeting, things have been going so well. Our trade has grown several times. I hope there is a big room to grow still. A month ago, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Mr Lavrov, came to Ethiopia. We sent him back with a “seven-year discount”. He was old when he came, but he came back younger because we are in 2019. He came as 2026, and he went back younger, ready to serve you for longer. Mr President, things have been going very, very well since our last meeting. In terms of our military cooperation, trade exchange, investment and, as you have said, scholarships for students, we are very grateful for our bilateral relationship, as well as in the multilateral aspect. Mr President, without your support, Ethiopia cannot be a member of the BRICS. We are always grateful for that. We know what you have done and we are grateful. I am sure we will pay back when the time comes. Thank you very much for our meeting, Mr President.
Meeting with President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril RamaphosaBRICS Summit
The main programme of the summit has opened in New Delhi, India. Taking part in the meeting of BRICS heads of delegation are President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, President of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto, President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian, President of China Xi Jinping, Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council (UAE) Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of Brazil Mauro Luiz Iecker Vieira, and Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. Prior to the meeting, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi held an official welcoming ceremony for the Summit participants. The meeting participants will address initiatives put forward under India’s chairmanship, prospects for further strengthening the BRICS strategic partnership in politics and security, economics and finance, and cultural and humanitarian ties, as well as pressing international and regional issues.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in New Delhi to attend BRICS summit