Tigrayan Forces Mobilize Against the Central Government in Ethiopia

Tigray People’s Liberation Front seized a key airport in the city of Mekelle, as fears grow of a possible return to a full-scale war. The authorities in Ethiopia’s Tigray region said on Wednesday that they had mobilized their forces against the federal government, signaling a severe escalation in a conflict that analysts fear will lead to another all-out war. Tigrayan forces seized the airport in the city of Mekelle early on Wednesday as well as others in the northern region, displacing federal forces in a direct challenge to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s central government. Tigray’s regional administration accused the federal government on Wednesday of starting an invasion, pointing to a series of recent attacks, including an assault by infantry, drones and artillery. Tigray, which borders Eritrea and is inhabited mostly by the Tigrayan ethnic group, has played a crucial role in contemporary Ethiopian politics. Its forces led a coalition that overthrew a military regime in 1991. Then its leader, Meles Zenawi, ruled the country until his death in 2012, undertaking significant reforms. During that time, Ethiopia became one of Africa’s fastest growing economies. But hundreds of thousands of people were killed in a two-year war between the central government and Tigrayan forces that began in 2020 and drew in Eritrea on the side of Mr. Abiy, who had taken power in 2018.

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