Ethiopian federal forces and allied militia say they have seized Alamata, a strategically vital town at the southern gateway to the Tigray region, following days of intense clashes with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). The capture was announced by the Tigray Peace Force, a splinter group aligned with the federal government, and confirmed by conflict monitor ACLED. The development marks a significant setback for Tigrayan rebels, who had launched coordinated offensives across multiple fronts earlier in the week.

The renewed fighting, which escalated sharply last Wednesday, has revived fears of a return to the full-scale civil war of 2020–2022 — a conflict that killed an estimated 600,000 people and devastated one of Africa's most populous countries. The TPLF, which ruled Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018 before being sidelined by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has joined a broader alliance of seven armed groups — the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival — including Amhara nationalist Fano militias and the Oromo Liberation Army. The alliance's stated goal is to overthrow Abiy's government and install a transitional administration. The Pretoria Peace Agreement had ended the previous war and held an uneasy calm until late 2025, when clashes resumed.

While federal forces reclaimed Alamata, the TPLF made advances in the neighbouring Afar region, seizing the town of Erebti after heavy artillery bombardment and pushing eastward toward Afdeera, roughly 100 kilometres away. The offensive appears aimed at cutting off supplies flowing through Djibouti — a small nation on the Horn of Africa that serves as the port of entry for nearly all of Ethiopia's international trade cargo, including fuel. Heavy fighting has also been reported in the Amhara region, including around Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its ancient rock-hewn churches. Ethiopia's army chief, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, accused Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt of backing the armed groups, allegations Sudan flatly denied, calling them