Reports reaching Taarifa Investigative Desk reveal that Ethiopian Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebels on Wednesday seized a strategic regional airport.
Details indicate that the rebels are now controlling the Alula Aba Nega Airport in the regional capital Mekelle, security and local sources told a local radio station.
Following the seizure of this strategic airport in the north of the country, Ethiopian Airlines on Wednesday suspended flights to Ethiopia’s Northern region.
“Flights to Mekelle and cities of Shire and Axum have been halted “due to the current situation in Tigray region,” the State owned carrier said via X.
The Tigray rebels announced on Sunday they have formed an alliance with six other armed groups across Ethiopia aimed at overthrowing Abiy’s government.
According to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, Ethiopian military has carried out several drone strikes against Tigrayan forces in recent months.
TPLF and federal government signed a peace deal in November 2022 to end the war but each has been accusing the other of violating the agreement.
Tigrayan forces fought the federal government during a 2020-2022 civil war that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.
