Fighting Reignites in Northern Ethiopia, Chief of Staff Accuses Neighboring Country of Supporting Rebels

According to a report by Reference News on September 30, Agence France-Presse reported on September 27 that the Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces accused neighboring Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt of supporting armed groups that have been fighting against the Ethiopian military in the northern part of the country since the 23rd.

According to reports, fighting broke out in the northern part of the country on the 23rd. The Tigray People's Liberation Front is a political organization that effectively controls the government of Tigray State, which the federal government deems illegal. The organization stated that this action is a response to the "invasion" by the Ethiopian federal forces.

Reports of fighting have also emerged from the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions. However, since communications in Tigray and its surrounding areas have largely been cut off since the 25th, it is difficult to assess the progress of the fighting.

According to the non-governmental organization "Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project," which specializes in collecting and analyzing conflict information, the local militia group "Fano," which has taken up arms against the federal government in Amhara in 2023, has also joined the fight.

Chief of Staff Birhanu Jula announced on a YouTube channel: "We are fighting against some organized and allied forces that serve the interests of external powers."

Jula accused: "Neither Eritrea nor the Tigray People's Liberation Front can achieve anything on their own or even in alliance unless they receive support and supplies from Sudan, Egypt, and other external forces."

According to reports, around 9 a.m. local time on the 27th, a drone attacked the building housing Tigray Television. The television station, located in the capital of Tigray, Mekelle, is the official agency of the Tigray dissenting authorities. Several journalists from the station stated that the rebel authorities claimed they were engaged in a "total war" with the federal government.

One journalist told AFP: "We heard a huge explosion from a drone strike elsewhere and immediately left the building. Just as we left, the television station's building was hit and damaged."

Another journalist told AFP that the television station, which has over 400 journalists, interrupted its live broadcast.

They stated that there are currently no reports of casualties.

Photos taken by a local journalist show damage to the building's exterior and blackened areas, with several windows shattered by the explosion.

In Afar, a source from a local NGO told AFP that Tigray People's Liberation Front forces captured Erebti on the 27th. The town is located in a mountainous area where intense fighting had previously occurred, involving heavy artillery fire.

According to the source, Tigray fighters are currently advancing towards Afder, about 100 kilometers to the east. Afder is the only gateway to Djibouti, and the vast majority of Ethiopia's imported goods rely on this route for transport.

The humanitarian source explicitly stated, "Based on estimates received from various communities," it can be "cautiously said that 150,000 people have been displaced due to the fighting in the Afar region," but "it is impossible to know the exact number due to the inability to access rural areas."

He added, "Currently, we are working to gather food" and "drinking water transported by water trucks" to assist the displaced.

After months of tension, fighting has reignited in northern Ethiopia, casting a shadow of a new round of large-scale war. Four years ago, Tigray experienced a conflict that was one of the deadliest wars in recent years. According to the African Union, it is estimated that between 2020 and 2022, this conflict resulted in at least 600,000 deaths, while many experts believe this number is underestimated. (Translated by Zhao Kexin)