Ethiopia: Tigrayan fighters seize control of regional capital's airport - Sarmad

Security and local sources reported that rebels in Ethiopia’s Tigray region in the north have taken control of the regional capital’s airport, as tensions with the federal government escalate.

An employee at Alula Aba Nega Airport in the capital, Mekelle, told Agence France-Presse: “While we were on our way to work at the airport, our supervisor called the driver and informed him that Tigray forces had taken control of the airport. With no flights operating, we were instructed to return home.”

This information was confirmed by a foreign security source residing in Ethiopia.

Flight tracking website Flightradar also showed that a Wednesday morning flight between Mekelle and the federal capital, Addis Ababa, was canceled.

A small number of federal police officers are guarding the airport, and their status remains unknown.

On Sunday, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) announced its joining of a new alliance comprising armed groups opposing the government from across the country.

Ethiopia is facing numerous rebel movements, including in the densely populated regions of Oromia and Amhara.

The country experienced a bloody war from 2020 to 2022 between federal forces and TPLF rebels, which claimed at least 600,000 lives, according to the African Union.