Ethiopian Airlines Suspends Tigray Flights as Clashes Erupt in Western Tigray

By Shire Abdi - Reporter

Ethiopia, 29 January 2026 Ethiopian Airlines has suspended all flights to Tigray region following the outbreak of fighting between federal forces and Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters in western Tigray, multiple sources confirmed to Dawan Africa on Thursday.

The clashes, centered around Tsemlet in disputed western Tigray territory, mark the most serious breach of the November 2022 Pretoria peace agreement and raise fears of a return to the devastating conflict that killed an estimated 600,000 people between 2020 and 2022.

Security sources told Dawan Africa Media that Tigrayan forces are facing Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) troops alongside Amhara regional militias—the same forces required under the Pretoria agreement to withdraw from territories they occupied during the war.

"The situation appears to be deteriorating," a security source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A diplomatic source added: "The clashes were confirmed in recent days, but today we don't know the situation."

Ethiopian Airlines confirmed to Addis Standard that flights to Mekelle, Axum, Shire, and Humera scheduled for Thursday were suspended for what the carrier termed "operational reasons," without elaborating.

Two airline officials, speaking anonymously to AFP, confirmed the suspension—the first since commercial flights resumed following the 2022 ceasefire.

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In Mekelle, residents reported growing anxiety. "There is increasing anxiety," a local journalist told AFP, "but we don't know the intensity of fighting so far."

The fighting has erupted in western Tigray, territory whose status remains unresolved under the Pretoria accord. Amhara regional forces, who occupied the area during the war, have refused to withdraw despite the agreement's provisions. Eritrean forces also remain present in parts of northern Ethiopia in violation of the peace deal.

Neither the ENDF nor TPLF leadership had responded to requests for comment at time of publication.

The suspension of air service recalls the total communications and banking blackout imposed on Tigray during the war, when the region was effectively sealed off from the outside world for months at a time.

Western Tigray's status has emerged as one of the most contentious unresolved issues from the conflict, with competing territorial claims between Tigray and Amhara regions threatening the fragile peace.

Sources; Dawan Africa, Addis Standard, AFP

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