TPLF Launches Offensive to Overthrow Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and a coalition of six other armed groups, including the Fano militia and Oromo Liberation Army, launched a wide-scale military offensive against the Ethiopian federal government starting September 23, 2026. The TPLF seized control of federal airports in Mekelle, Axum, and Shire, prompting Ethiopian Airlines to suspend all flights to the Tigray region. The rebels have since expanded operations into the Afar and Amhara regions, capturing the town of Abala and engaging in heavy artillery battles in Erebti and Yallo.

This escalation effectively shatters the 2022 Pretoria Peace Agreement. The TPLF characterizes the offensive as a defensive response to a "genocidal invasion" involving federal drone and artillery strikes. Conversely, the federal government describes the move as an irresponsible all-out offensive. In response, the Ethiopian National Defense Force launched a counter-offensive in the Amhara region, claiming to have killed 272 TPLF fighters.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government has accused Eritrea of providing financial backing to the rebel alliance, a claim Eritrea denies. President Taye Atske-Selassie Amde attributed the violence to "forces of destruction and mayhem" and external interference. International bodies, including the African Union and the European Union, have called for immediate de-escalation. The African Union has appointed former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to lead urgent diplomatic engagements to prevent a return to full-scale war.