Fighting has intensified across northern Ethiopia, with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) declaring that the country has entered a “full-blown war” with the federal government.
The escalation followed the TPLF’s reported seizure of three airports in the Tigray region on Wednesday and attacks in neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions.
Ethiopian Airlines has suspended flights to airports in Mekelle, Shire and Axum amid the renewed fighting.
Images and videos posted on social media showed military personnel and civilians in Abala, while footage from Mekelle showed people and vehicles on the streets following the reported seizure of the regional airport.
Ethiopia’s army said its forces had killed 272 Tigrayan fighters and wounded another 260 during a counter-offensive in Amhara.
However, the figures could not be independently verified.
The renewed violence follows months of rising tensions and threatens to undermine the peace agreement signed in 2022 that brought an end to a two-year conflict in Tigray.
The war, which began in 2020, caused widespread destruction and a major humanitarian crisis. African Union estimates put the death toll at more than 600,000 people.
The latest escalation has also raised concerns that Eritrea could become involved, potentially widening the conflict beyond Ethiopia’s borders and creating a broader regional crisis.
The situation remains fluid as federal forces and Tigrayan fighters continue to engage in hostilities across parts of northern Ethiopia.
 declaring that the country has entered){kind=link}