Heavy fighting broke out across several parts of Ethiopia on 25 September 2026, as a Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, alliance pressed attacks into Afar and Amhara and declared what it called ‘fullstendig krig’ (complete war) against the federal government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The extent of the fighting and the number of people killed or newly displaced could not be independently established. Telephone and internet networks collapsed in Tigray on Friday, restricting information from an area that was central to Ethiopia’s 2020–2022 civil war. AFP said it was unable to reach its sources in Tigray by telephone on Friday.
The TPLF and six other armed groups said on Monday that they had formed an alliance aimed at removing Abiy and his government. The groups have taken control of local airports in Tigray and launched attacks in neighbouring Afar and Amhara, according to the information available from the front.
On 23 September, TPLF forces seized airports at Mekelle, Shire and Axum in Tigray. Ethiotelecom was down in the region as of 25 September, although some Safaricom service was reported.
In Afar, thousands of people fled drone strikes around Abala, a town on the border with Tigray. Heavy fighting continued overnight in the area, including drone attacks. The fighting has particular economic significance because Afar contains the main route from Djibouti through which almost all of Ethiopia’s international trade cargo, including fuel, is transported.
The federal army said it had killed over 700 TPLF soldiers in Amhara. That claim could not be independently verified. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a conflict monitor known as ACLED, reported fighting in western Tigray.
Heavy clashes were also reported in North Wollo Zone of Amhara, near the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Lalibela. The present positions of each side, the wider strength and composition of the rebel alliance, and the federal government’s military response strategy remain unclear.
The escalation follows the collapse of the 2022 Pretoria Peace Agreement, which had maintained a fragile ceasefire after the earlier civil war. That conflict had an estimated death toll of more than 600,000, while around one million people remain displaced from the 2020–2022 war.
The collapse in communications has added to concern over the humanitarian impact of the latest fighting. The number of civilian casualties and the total number displaced since 25 September are unknown.
The UN and the African Union called for an immediate halt to combat operations in northern Ethiopia. UN Secretary-General António Guterres raised alarm over the situation at the UN General Assembly in New York. The European Union called for immediate de-escalation.
The International Crisis Group said: “Unless the fighting is urgently halted, the conflict will be devastating not just for the country but for the entire Horn of Africa.” There is great fear of a new civil war, although it remains uncertain whether the current fighting will develop into a broader nationwide conflict or remain limited to its present fronts.
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