Federal troops advance in northern Ethiopia as renewed Tigray fighting kills 52 in Alamata

Escalation around Alamata and regional frontlines

Heavy fighting between the Ethiopian National Defense Force and Tigrayan regional forces has spread across northern Ethiopia, collapsing the calm established by the 2022 peace agreement. In the southern Tigray town of Alamata, situated 120 kilometres south of Mekelle along a main highway, at least 52 civilians died during three days of clashes between Saturday and Monday. Federal troops took control of Alamata on 27 September and began pushing north toward Mekelle, backed by tanks and heavy artillery. Resident accounts indicate that an artillery strike hit Alamata's Saturday market, killing 11 people and wounding 15 others. Additional clashes have erupted near towns such as Mekoni and Mai Ceu, where Tigrayan forces are defending southern access routes to the regional capital.

Military offensive and infrastructure control

The current confrontation erupted on 23 September 2026 after months of escalating friction between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front. Tigrayan forces seized control of regional airports in Mekelle, Axum, and Shire during the initial days of the offensive, prompting Ethiopian Airlines to cancel all scheduled flights across the northern region. Drone strikes followed, including an attack that hit the headquarters of Tigray Television on 27 September. The fighting also spread to strategic transit routes in the Afar region, which connect landlocked Ethiopia to maritime ports in Djibouti.

Hospital strain and civilian displacement

Medical facilities across Tigray have been flooded with casualties from artillery bombardments and ground battles. Médecins Sans Frontières reported that more than 700 wounded people were admitted to partner hospitals throughout the region within days. Between 22 and 25 September, war-wounded admissions at hospitals in Korem and Alamata jumped from roughly 180 to more than 420 patients. At Suhul Hospital in Shire, medical personnel treated over 300 wounded patients on 25 September alone, while the hospital in Mekelle admitted 44 civilians injured by artillery fire, including 33 children.

Since 22 September, our teams have stepped up their activities to respond to the increase in the number of patients as a result of the ongoing hostilities.

In the neighboring Afar region, between 120,000 and 150,000 civilians have fled their homes according to the Afar Pastoralist Development Association. Aid workers set up an emergency camp in Erebti on 28 September to shelter displaced families facing severe shortages of food and basic supplies.

Rebel coalition and diplomatic accusations

The offensive follows the formation of a seven-member opposition coalition that includes the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the Amhara Fano militia, who joined forces in early September with the declared goal of ousting the federal government in Addis Ababa. In the Amhara region, clashes between the army and Amhara militia forces stranded 33 foreign tourists in Lalibela, a Unesco World Heritage site known for its 13th-century rock-hewn churches. On 27 September, Ethiopia's military leadership accused Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt of providing military backing to Tigrayan rebels. Both Asmara and Khartoum rejected the allegations, while communication blackouts across Tigray continue to obstruct independent verification of frontline positions.