Ethiopian Government Forces Recapture Tigray Capital's Airport as Rebels Retreat

Ethiopian government forces, backed by allied militias, have recaptured the airport in the capital of the northern Tigray region as rebel fighters retreat, according to Al Jazeera, even as fighting continues in Ethiopia's Amhara and Afar regions.

The advance marks a notable shift in a conflict that has drawn in multiple parts of Ethiopia beyond Tigray itself, with government and allied forces reported to be making gains in territory previously held by rebel groups. Retaking the airport in the regional capital is being treated as a significant milestone in the campaign.

A conflict with deep roots

Tigray was the site of a brutal civil war between 2020 and 2022 between Ethiopia's federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, a conflict that killed hundreds of thousands of people before a peace agreement was signed. Tensions in the region, and in neighboring Amhara and Afar, have persisted in the years since, occasionally flaring into renewed violence.

Fighting in Amhara has separately involved clashes between federal forces and the Fano militia, a loosely organized armed movement that emerged following the end of the Tigray war, while Afar has seen its own bouts of instability linked to competition over land and resources as well as spillover from fighting in neighboring regions.

The latest developments add to an already volatile security picture in northern and central Ethiopia, with observers watching closely to see whether the government's gains in Tigray will have knock-on effects on the separate conflicts underway in Amhara and Afar.