Ethiopia's Tigray region hit by internet blackout as rebels declare full-blown war
Tigrayan forces say they are at war again with Ethiopia's government after seizing airports and attacking neighbouring regions, as internet cuts deepen fears of a new civil war.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Tigrayan forces say they are in a full-blown war with Ethiopia's federal government, after a rapid collapse of the 2022 peace deal and a fresh outbreak of fighting. The second in command of the Tigrayan forces said the region was now at war. Both the federal government and Tigray's leaders accuse each other of escalating the conflict.
Fighting has spread around Tigray's borders, especially into the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar. Tigrayan forces and their allies say they are carrying out defensive combat. They have reportedly taken three regional airports. Residents in Mekelle, the regional capital, have been panic buying food, cash and other supplies. Internet and phone services are down across Tigray, making it hard to verify claims from either side.
Ethiopia's army says it killed more than 700 Tigrayan fighters on the northeastern and northwestern fronts. The figure could not be independently checked. Earlier drone strikes in the region killed 12 people and injured about 22, reports said. The UN says it is continuing humanitarian operations.
The renewed fighting is the most severe since the end of the 2020-2022 war, though it has not yet reached the scale of that conflict, according to analysis. The earlier war between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed killed more than half a million people, by some estimates around 600,000. It ended with a peace deal signed in South Africa in 2022.
Underlying disputes were never settled. They include contested territories claimed by Tigray and other regions, and the failure to return about a million people displaced by the war. Around three quarters of a million people are still displaced. The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly 30 years until Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018. Some describe the current struggle as a fight between the old and the new political order.
Days before the latest clashes, seven armed groups announced a coalition called the Alliance for Survival. It includes the TPLF, the Fano militia in Amhara and the Oromo Liberation Army in Oromia, along with four smaller groups. Their stated aim is to topple Abiy Ahmed's government. They are united against the federal government but share little else. Most observers think the federal government is by far the stronger party.
The conflict also has a regional dimension. Eritrea, once Ethiopia's ally against the Tigrayan forces, is now accused of supporting the rebel alliance. This follows Ethiopian suggestions that it could seize Red Sea ports such as Assab. Ethiopia has provided supply lines for Sudan's Rapid Support Forces, while Tigrayans have been accused of supporting the Sudanese army. Egypt has been angered by Ethiopia's construction of a large dam on a Nile tributary.
Humanitarian agencies warn that aid access will be difficult if fighting continues. Civilians are again caught in the crossfire. The last war caused catastrophic death and displacement, and the latest escalation has raised fears of another.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC News | Channel 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Clashes were reported in multiple areas, particularly in Tigray's neighbouring Amhara and Afar states. | ||
| The TPLF announced a coalition of seven armed rebel groups, the Alliance for Survival, including former enemies. | ||
| Tigray rebels reportedly controlled three regional airports after renewed fighting. | ||
| Eritrea was accused of supporting the rebel alliance after Ethiopian statements about Red Sea ports. | · | |
| Ethiopia's army claimed to have killed more than 700 Tigrayan fighters on two fronts; the BBC said it could not verify the claim. | · | |
| Internet and phone services were disrupted in Tigray. | · | |
| Reports said drone strikes in Tigray killed 12 people and injured about 22. | · | |
| The deputy leader of the Tigray rebels said they are in a full-scale war with Ethiopia's federal government. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The BBC News Now segment gave the widest historical and political context, interviewing a reporter in Addis Ababa about why the 2022 peace deal failed. It was cautious about the phrase full-blown war, calling the fighting a massive escalation but not yet on the scale of the previous conflict. It also highlighted unresolved territorial and displacement issues.
- “The second in command of Tigray rebels say they're in a state of full-blown war now with the federal government.”
- “we have not seen anything to the magnitude and to the scale of the war that we witnessed a few years ago, but these are early days”
- “some of the underlying issues were not resolved”
Channel 4 led with the human impact and the danger of another war, showing residents stockpiling supplies and warning that a fragile peace has fallen apart. It gave more detail than the BBC on the new rebel coalition and its former enemies. It also placed the fighting in a wider regional context, linking Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt to the conflict.
- “One of the century's deadliest wars is reigniting.”
- “Tigrayan and allied forces have seized three local airports and attacked two neighbouring regions”
- “Around three quarters of a million people are still displaced from the earlier conflict in Tigray”
The BBC News bulletin focused on the information blackout and the difficulty of verifying battlefield claims. It reported the Ethiopian army's claim to have killed 700 Tigrayan fighters but stressed it could not confirm that. It also highlighted panic buying in Mekelle, UN humanitarian operations and the risk of catastrophic civilian harm.
- “internet and phone services have been disrupted in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region after regional fighters declared a return to full-blown war with the federal government.”
- “the Ethiopian army saying that it's killed 700 and more Tigrayan forces in the northeastern front and the northwestern front of the war in Tigray, but we can't verify any of that.”
- “The last time this happened, 600,000 people died or more. So this could be catastrophic for the region.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.