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Tigray rebels said they are in a state of "full-blown war" with Ethiopia's federal government, as reports emerged of hundreds killed and heavy artillery attacks spreading into neighboring regions, raising fears the fighting could draw in neighboring Eritrea and destabilize the wider Horn of Africa.
"We are in the situation of full-blown war now," Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) Vice President Amanuel Assefa told Agence France-Presse (AFP), confirming that Tigrayan forces were fighting alongside local armed groups in the Afar and Amhara regions.
The TPLF launched attacks into those neighboring states Wednesday, according to Ethiopian officials, while the TPLF-led Tigray regional government said its forces had entered a "defensive war" in response to a federal offensive that it said involved infantry, mechanized units, drones and other air assets.
The Ethiopian National Defense Force said its forces launched a counter-offensive after TPLF fighters attacked several areas of North Wollo Zone in Amhara, an area bordering Tigray.
"Government forces launched a counter-offensive that inflicted heavy personnel and equipment losses on the TPLF," the army said in a statement, adding that 272 TPLF members were killed and 260 wounded.
It cannot be independently verified that the figures are accurate, and no casualties were given for federal forces or civilians.
A humanitarian source told AFP that heavy artillery attacks by rebels continued Thursday as they attempted to take the town of Yallo, near the Tigrayan border in Afar.
Fighting was also reported around Lalibela, in North Wollo Zone, home to Ethiopia's medieval rock churches, UNESCO World Heritage sites; the area has frequently been targeted by the Fano militia, now operating alongside the TPLF, and its airport was forced to close.
TPLF forces this week seized control of three airports in Tigray—in Mekelle, Axum and Shire—prompting Ethiopian Airlines to suspend flights to all three cities.
Regional expert Kjetil Tronvoll of Oslo New University College said the Tigrayan offensive mirrors tactics used in the 2020-2022 war.
"Their stated aim is to take Addis, but its tactical maneuvers to reach the city are not yet known," Tronvoll said, adding that the Afar offensive is likely aimed at cutting Ethiopia off from supplies routed through Djibouti, which handles almost all of Ethiopia's international trade cargo, including fuel.
Analysts say the TPLF has support from Eritrea, which fears landlocked Ethiopia is planning to invade its territory to gain access to the Red Sea port of Assab.
Assefa told AFP the TPLF has "no information about Eritrea's plan" and, asked whether the group would request Eritrean intervention, said: "Not yet."
Ethiopia's government has separately accused Eritrea of financially backing the TPLF-led alliance, allegations Asmara has denied.
Sudan's army has also expressed anger toward Ethiopia over its alleged support for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), further complicating the situation, as Ethiopia denies the accusation.
Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie Amde, addressing the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA), decried what he called "the forces of destruction and mayhem" and "interference in our internal affairs by adversarial elements," while saying his country had exercised "immense restraint."
U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin Massinga called the renewed fighting an "unwinnable fight" for the TPLF and warned Washington could impose additional sanctions on leaders involved in the escalation.
"I am disappointed to see the leadership of the TPLF, that the United States sanctioned earlier this year, make the poor decision to launch a large-scale offensive today," Massinga said, adding that other armed groups "would be wise to avoid this" and that the U.S. retains "tools to sanction additional leaders" who push Ethiopia "down the wrong path."
He said he still believes "a reasonable political dialogue is the right way to go," urging engagement with African Union-led talks under former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The renewed conflict comes shortly after the U.S. lifted sanctions on Ethiopia and Eritrea tied to the earlier civil war, saying the relevant "national emergency" had expired, and after separately lifting sanctions on Eritrean Defense Forces this month, a move seen as recognition of Eritrea's strategic Red Sea coastline.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed "grave concern" over the seizure of the three airports and the spread of fighting into neighboring areas.
"The Secretary-General calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, immediately de-escalate tensions, protect civilians, ensure safe and unhindered access for humanitarian partners to reach those in need, and avoid actions that could lead to a broader and more devastating conflict," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, with Guterres reiterating support for African Union mediation efforts and urging a return to talks under the 2022 Pretoria Agreement.
The African Union's Commission chair, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, separately urged the warring parties to de-escalate immediately and hold direct talks, calling on neighboring countries not to contribute to further escalation.
The EU also called for restraint, saying in a statement: "Immediate de-escalation is needed... Differences can only be resolved through dialogue and not military action."
The TPLF and Ethiopia's federal government fought a two-year war beginning in November 2020 that is estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions, according to African Union estimates that put the death toll above 600,000.
The war ended with the Pretoria Agreement, signed in South Africa in November 2022, which halted major fighting but left unresolved issues including the status of disputed areas in western Tigray, the return of displaced people, and the disarmament of TPLF forces.
The TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for decades before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's rise to power in 2018, has remained the dominant political and military force in Tigray; splits within the party saw a hardline faction reassert control over the region last year, ousting an interim administration.
Last week, the TPLF announced it had formed an alliance with six other armed groups from across Ethiopia, including the Fano militia, a former wartime enemy, to coordinate opposition to Abiy's government.
Around 750,000 Tigrayans remained internally displaced as of February, according to the U.N. refugee agency, with the region still recovering from the humanitarian toll of the earlier war and facing drought linked to El Nino.
Rights groups have separately accused the TPLF of forced recruitment this year as it prepared for renewed conflict.
Residents in Tigray's capital, Mekelle, told Reuters they were stocking up on food, cash and basic goods, fearing a return to the severe shortages experienced during the 2020-2022 war, when the region was largely cut off from the outside world.
"We are buying almost everything we think could become necessary," one resident said, describing food hoarding and cash withdrawals, and speaking anonymously for security reasons.
"Almost all basic necessities are becoming more difficult to obtain or afford," he said, adding: "There is also a growing fear that the situation could deteriorate into siege conditions similar to those experienced during the previous war."
Another resident in Adigrat, near the Eritrean border, described panic-buying and empty shelves: "Food shortages are worsening as market shelves sit empty ... essential medicines remain scarce and astronomically expensive. Daily survival has become a constant calculation."
Both residents described witnessing forced recruitment of young people by the TPLF.
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