NAIROBI
Forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have taken control of Alula Aba Nega Airport in Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, according to local media reports.
TPLF forces, which have been engaged in renewed clashes with the federal government, seized control of the airport, local media reported. Neither the federal government nor the TPLF has yet issued a statement on the airport’s status.
Ethiopian Airlines said in a statement that flights to Mekelle, Aksum and Shire had been temporarily suspended due to “the current situation in the Tigray region.” The airline said it would announce a date for the resumption of flights at a later time.
The suspension effectively cut air links to the three cities following reports that the TPLF had taken control of the Mekelle airport.
The development came days after seven armed groups and political organizations from different parts of Ethiopia, including the TPLF, announced the formation of an alliance against the federal government. The announcement raised concerns over a possible return to civil war.
The groups announced the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, also known as the Alliance for Survival, in a joint statement Sunday. They accused Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party government of driving the country toward widespread conflict, humanitarian distress and political instability, warning that Ethiopia faces the “danger of disintegration.”
The alliance includes the TPLF, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), the Amhara Fano National Movement and the Ogaden National Liberation Front. It also includes the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, the Benishangul Peoples’ Liberation Movement and the Gumuz Peoples’ Democratic Movement.
The groups said their immediate objectives were to remove the current administration and establish an “inclusive transitional government” under a shared charter aimed at ending ongoing hostilities and initiating broad constitutional dialogue.
They also called on other political and civic organizations and members of the federal security forces to join their efforts.
The Ethiopian government has not publicly responded to the alliance’s announcement.
Tensions rise in Tigray
The latest developments follow renewed tensions between the federal government and the TPLF despite a 2022 peace agreement that ended the two-year Tigray war.
The conflict between federal forces and the TPLF began in 2020 and ended with the signing of the Pretoria peace agreement in South Africa in November 2022. Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have died during the war.
However, disputes have persisted over the implementation of the agreement, the status of Tigray’s forces and the ownership of contested areas in western Tigray. Fighting has recently intensified again between forces linked to the federal government and the TPLF.
The TPLF is seeking the implementation of the 2022 peace agreement, the return of displaced people and a resolution to the status of disputed territories in Tigray.
The TPLF was Ethiopia’s dominant political force for nearly three decades before Abiy became prime minister in 2018.
The OLA has fought federal forces in Oromia since 2018. The Fano armed movement fought alongside government forces during the Tigray war before turning against the federal government after authorities sought to disarm regional forces.
Armed conflicts have also continued in parts of the Amhara and Oromia regions, while tensions in Tigray have increased in recent months.
Experts have warned that the renewed clashes and the formation of the anti-government alliance could trigger another civil war in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian Media Authority has also indefinitely suspended Tigray Television after it broadcast live Sunday’s announcement by Zemene Kassie, head of the Amhara Fano National Movement, according to local news outlet Addis Standard.
