Tigrayan forces seize Mekelle airport as Ethiopian Airlines suspends regional flights
Tigrayan forces reportedly took control of Mekelle airport, while Ethiopian Airlines halted flights to three northern cities amid worsening tensions.
Mekelle, Ethiopia. Tigrayan forces seized the main airport in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region overnight, according to three local sources, as Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to the region amid fears of renewed conflict.
The reported takeover follows months of worsening relations between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which governs Tigray.
Airport takeover and flight suspensions
Three local sources, including a security source, told Reuters that Tigrayan forces took control of Mekelle airport from federal police overnight.
Ethiopian Airlines said on social media that flights to the regional capital Mekelle and the cities of Shire and Axum had been halted “due to the current situation in Tigray region.” The carrier provided no further details.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the situation in Shire and Axum. Spokespeople for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the federal government and the TPLF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Escalating political tensions
On Sunday, the TPLF and six other armed groups across Ethiopia announced an alliance aimed at overthrowing Abiy’s government.
The TPLF and federal forces fought a war from 2020 to 2022 that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. The conflict followed a breakdown in relations between the TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades, and Abiy, whose appointment as prime minister in 2018 ended the party’s dominance.
The sides signed the Pretoria Agreement in November 2022 to end the war, but have since accused each other of violating the peace deal.
In May, the TPLF seized control of the regional government from the interim administration established under the agreement.
Abiy’s spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, told Reuters on Monday that members of the newly announced alliance had been collaborating for some time with financial backing from Eritrea, Ethiopia’s neighbour and historic adversary.
This news item was generated automatically by Cyprus Inform from publicly available materials. Report an error →