Tigray forces capture key airport as regional conflict intensifies
Tigrayan forces have taken control of the main airport in Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region as tensions between the regional authorities and the federal government continue to rise.
The takeover of Alula Aba Nega Airport on Wednesday, as reported by news agency AFP, comes amid growing fears that Ethiopia could again slide into a major conflict.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the region, fought federal forces in a devastating civil war from 2020 to 2022.
The conflict killed around 600,000 people, according to estimates by the African Union.
The latest escalation has also disrupted air travel. Ethiopian Airlines said it had temporarily suspended flights to Mekelle, Axum and Shire because of the situation in Tigray.
An employee at Mekelle airport told AFPthat workers were instructed to return home after being informed that Tigrayan forces had taken over the facility.
A small contingent of federal police had been stationed at the airport, although there was no immediate information about what happened to them after the reported takeover.
Flight tracking data showed that a scheduled Wednesday morning flight between Mekelle and Addis Ababa had been cancelled.
The airport development comes after months of renewed tensions and sporadic fighting between Tigrayan forces and Ethiopia’s federal authorities. The Pretoria peace agreement, signed in 2022, had brought the previous war to an end but left several key issues unresolved.
The latest crisis follows another major development on Sunday, when the TPLF joined six other armed groups in a new alliance opposed to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
The groups announced the formation of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, saying they wanted to work together towards an inclusive transitional government.
The alliance includes the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Oromo Liberation Army, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, the Benishangul Peoples’ Liberation Movement and the Gumuz Peoples’ Democratic Movement, along with the TPLF.
The group brings together forces from several regions where Ethiopia has faced armed insurgencies, adding another layer to the security challenges facing Abiy’s government.
The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades before Abiy came to power in 2018. Its subsequent confrontation with the federal government eventually led to the two-year Tigray war.
The relative calm following the 2022 peace agreement began to deteriorate in late 2025, with clashes reported again in Tigray. The federal government has since increased its military presence near the region and carried out drone strikes.
Tigray is still struggling to recover from the previous war, with about one million people displaced and several provisions of the peace agreement yet to be fully implemented.
Ethiopia’s federal government also retains a major military advantage, including an expanded drone capability developed since the last conflict, raising concerns about the potential consequences if the current escalation develops into another full-scale war.
By Agencies
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