Dylan GAMBA AFP
Thu, September 24, 2026 at 9:49 AM GMT+1
Tigray rebels in Ethiopia told AFP on Thursday they were in a state of “full-blown war” with the federal government, as heavy artillery attacks were reported in neighbouring states.
Tensions have been rising for months between the federal government and the authorities in the northern Tigray state, who fought a devastating civil war in 2020-2022 that killed more than 600,000 people, according to African Union estimates.
The two sides accuse each other of triggering a return to open conflict with attacks this week, and there are fears the fighting could draw neighbouring Eritrea into a wider conflict.
On Wednesday, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominates the state, seized control of three airports from federal police and launched attacks into the neighbouring states of Afar and Amhara.
A humanitarian source in Afar told AFP there were heavy artillery attacks by the rebels on Thursday as they attempted to take control of the town of Yallo, near the Tigrayan border.
“We are in the situation of full-blown war now,” TPLF vice president Amanuel Assefa told AFP.
He confirmed Tigrayan forces were fighting alongside local armed groups in Afar and Amhara.
The rebels took control of Abala, also on the Tigray-Afar border, on Wednesday, according to a foreign security source based in Ethiopia, while a TPLF source said they had seized several other Afar towns, though this could not be confirmed.
The foreign security source said there was fighting around the Amhara town of Weldiya — one of the few routes to the capital, Addis Ababa.
Analysts say it mirrors the Tigrayan strategy during the 2020-2022 war — seeking to cut off supply lines and push towards the capital
