Ethiopian Army Claims Repelling Tigrayan Attacks Amid Renewed Fighting

Ethiopia's army announced on Wednesday that it has repelled attacks from Tigrayan forces and their allies in northern areas of the country. This marks the army's first official statement since fresh hostilities began. According to the military, the fighting commenced in a part of the Amhara region bordering Tigray, and its soldiers inflicted significant casualties while seizing weapons.

The latest developments follow a sharp escalation in tensions between the federal government and Tigrayan leadership in recent days, sparking concerns about a potential renewal of the civil war that ravaged the region from 2020 to 2022.

On Wednesday, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which governs the Tigray region, reportedly took control of three airports from federal police. The TPLF has not yet commented on the army's claims, and independent verification of the army's assertions has not been possible. Unconfirmed reports suggest that TPLF forces have also initiated attacks in the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions.

A humanitarian source in Afar told AFP news agency that Tigrayan forces launched heavy artillery attacks in an attempt to seize the town of Yallo, which is located near the Tigray border. The vice-president of the TPLF, Amanuel Assefa, was quoted by the news agency as stating, "We are in the situation of full-blown war now."

This recent outbreak of conflict occurs after months of increasing strain between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and Tigray authorities. The previous war, which concluded with an African Union-brokered peace deal, was one of the deadliest conflicts of the 21st century, with an estimated 600,000 deaths and driving the region to the brink of famine. Both sides have accused each other of violating the terms of the peace agreement in recent months.

Earlier on Sunday, the TPLF announced the formation of an alliance with six other armed groups aimed at ousting the current government. Ethiopian Airlines has subsequently canceled all flights to Tigray following the seizure of the airports.

Residents in Mekelle, Tigray's main city, reported to the BBC that local forces had taken control of the city's airport from national police early Wednesday. These events followed reports of drone strikes in Tigray in preceding days.

One Mekelle resident, who identified himself only as Fitsum for safety reasons, told the BBC's Newsday program that while there were no clashes within the city itself, unlike during the previous war, most fighting was occurring elsewhere. "Mekelle is calm, except the stress from the people," Fitsum said. He also highlighted economic hardships, noting that civil servants had not received government budgets for about seven to eight months, leading to a depletion of cash in banks. Many residents have relied on mobile banking, but the potential for communication blackouts poses a significant risk, as "there is almost no cash."

With the onset of renewed hostilities, residents are limiting their movements, and the city has fallen into a quiet state, described by one resident as "like a curfew has been placed."