Heavy fighting erupted overnight between Ethiopian federal forces and Tigray People’s Liberation Front fighters near Abala in the Afar region, while clashes were also reported around Lalibela in Amhara, AFP reported Friday.
There was “heavy fighting overnight” around Abala, a town in the mountains bordering Tigray, a humanitarian source told AFP in Afar. The source said the federal forces used a drone during the fighting and stopped the TPLF fighters from entering the town.
Heavy fighting was also reported Thursday in North Wollo Zone of Amhara, including areas around Lalibela, Ethiopia’s UNESCO-listed rock-hewn churches. Fighting near Lalibela had impacted the airport in the area, AFP said.
The renewed violence comes amid a fresh escalation between the TPLF and the federal government. Tigrayan forces have seized local airports and attacked into neighbouring Afar and Amhara, claiming they are once again in a “full-blown war” with the government, AFP reported.
The fighting represents a serious breakdown of the uneasy peace that followed the 2022 accord that ended Ethiopia’s devastating 2020-22 civil war.
