Fighting has broken out across northern Ethiopia as forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) launched a large-scale offensive against the federal government, seizing airports, pushing into neighbouring regions and triggering a communications blackout that has left much of Tigray cut off from the outside world. The TPLF declared it was now engaged in a "full-blown war" with Addis Ababa, while the Ethiopian army reported killing more than 400 rebel fighters and repelling assaults on multiple fronts.

Clashes that began on Wednesday spread rapidly, with Tigrayan forces seizing control of several local airports — including in the regional capital, Mekelle — from federal police. Attacks were also reported in the neighbouring Afar region, where heavy overnight fighting was concentrated around the mountain town of Abala near the Tigray border, and in the North Wollo Zone of Amhara, including around Lalibela, a town renowned for its ancient rock-hewn churches and designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Ethiopian Airlines cancelled all flights to Tigray following the airport seizures, and the United States issued travel warnings for all three affected regions. Analysts noted that the TPLF appeared to be repeating its strategy from the previous war: pushing south through Amhara toward Addis Ababa while threatening Afar, through which nearly all of Ethiopia's international trade cargo — including fuel — passes via the port of Djibouti.

Internet and telephone services provided by state-owned Ethio Telecom were completely severed across northern Tigray, confirmed by the network monitoring group NetBlocks. Sources told Reuters that the TPLF ordered the communications blackout, with one suggesting the move was intended to neutralise the federal army's drone advantage by denying access to mobile networks. The Ethiopian military, which operates a large fleet of imported and domestically produced drones, confirmed using aerial strikes. At least 14 civilians were reported killed in a Tuesday drone strike on the southern Tigrayan town of Alamata, according to local authorities — an account the BBC could not independently verify. The federal government has not commented on the alleged strike.

The TPLF — which governed all of Ethiopia for roughly three decades until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 — has now announced an alliance with six other armed groups, including Amhara Fano militias, to overthrow the federal government. The pairing is striking: Tigrayan and Amhara forces fought on opposing sides during the 2020–2022 civil war, which killed an estimated 600,000 people and pushed Tigray to the brink of famine under a near-total blockade. Magnus Taylor of the International Crisis Group warned that the new Alliance for Survival, while partly opportunistic, could pose a serious military challenge if its members coordinate effectively. He cautioned that a widening conflict risks undermining the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement and could draw in neighbouring Eritrea, which shares a fraught history with the TPLF and, according to analysts, fears Ethiopia may seek Red Sea access through its territory.

The renewed violence places Washington in a delicate position. The US lifted sanctions on both Ethiopia and Eritrea earlier this month, having declared that the humanitarian emergency from the last war had passed. The US embassy this week sided with Addis Ababa, expressing disappointment at the TPLF's offensive. Internally, the TPLF is also showing signs of fracture: a senior former police commissioner publicly defected to the federal government, citing opposition to forced child conscription and what he called the group's obsession with war. With around one million people still displaced from the previous conflict and aid access again at risk, humanitarian organisations and regional analysts are urging all parties to exercise restraint before the crisis spirals further.