Tigrayan forces have seized the main airport in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, according to three local sources, prompting Ethiopian Airlines to suspend flights and raising fears of a renewed conflict.
The sources, including a security official, said the forces took control of Mekelle airport from federal police overnight. The reports could not immediately be independently confirmed.
Ethiopian Airlines said flights to Mekelle, the regional capital, as well as Shire and Axum had been suspended “due to the current situation in Tigray region”. It gave no further details, and the situation in Shire and Axum remained unclear.
The reported seizure follows months of worsening relations between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which governs the region.
On Sunday, the TPLF and six other armed groups from across Ethiopia announced an alliance intended to overthrow Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
Spokespeople for Mr Abiy, the federal government and the TPLF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Tigray tensions follow previous war
The TPLF and the federal government fought a war between 2020 and 2022 that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. The conflict followed a breakdown in relations between the TPLF, which had dominated Ethiopian politics for almost three decades, and Mr Abiy, whose appointment as prime minister in 2018 ended its political dominance.
The two sides signed the Pretoria Agreement in November 2022 to end the fighting, but both have accused the other of breaching the peace deal.
In May, the TPLF took control of Tigray’s government from the interim administration established under the agreement.
Mr Abiy’s spokeswoman, Billene Seyoum, said on Monday that members of the new alliance had been co-operating for some time with financial backing from neighbouring Eritrea, Ethiopia’s historic adversary. Eritrea has repeatedly denied allegations that it supports armed groups in Ethiopia.
