Fighting widens across Ethiopia as Tigray clashes escalate

Armed groups clashed with federal troops across northern Ethiopia as fears mount of regional spillover.

x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info Rickshaw taxis and motorists drive near the Tigray Martyrs monument in Mekelle, Ethiopia’s Tigray region [Reuters] By Faisal Ali Published On 24 Sep 2026 24 Sep 2026 “They’ve begun an offensive around southern Tigray,” Abdisalam Balema, a member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s (TPLF) central committee, told Al Jazeera by phone from Mekelle, the Tigrayan capital, on Wednesday morning.

“They’re carrying out strikes in many places. We are not sure of the extent of it or whether they will continue, but we will assess it.”

Balema did not know it then, but he was describing the start of a major military escalation.