World·Africa
Update: Tigrayan forces hold Mekelle, Axum and Shire airports as seven-group alliance fights Abiy
Tigrayan forces have taken control of the airports at Mekelle, Axum and Shire, disrupting civilian flights, as fighting between Ethiopia’s federal army and Tigray forces intensified and crossed into neighboring Afar and Amhara, Al Jazeera reported Saturday. The African Union said the airport seizures are inconsistent with the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement and asked former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to engage the parties urgently. Seven armed groups — including the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the Amhara Fano National Movement and the Oromo Liberation Army — announced the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival this month aiming to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, with each side blaming the other for starting the latest major clashes.
- Al JazeeraIs Ethiopia on the verge of another civil war as fighting erupts in Tigray?