On Monday, forces loyal to the Ethiopian government announced control of the strategic town of Alamata in the Tigray region, north of the country, in a field development that may change the balance of power with renewed confrontations between the federal army and the Tigray People's Liberation Front. The military advance coincides with the expansion of fighting into the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions, amid mutual accusations of foreign interference and fears of the collapse of the peace agreement that ended a bloody civil war less than four years ago.
The Tigray Peace Force, an armed group loyal to the Ethiopian government, said on Monday that the federal army and its allied forces were able to control the town of Alamata, located about 120 kilometers south of the regional capital, Mekele, after an attack launched by opposition forces last week.
The group posted a video clip on its Facebook page showing soldiers walking through the streets of the town and waving Ethiopian flags. Two diplomatic sources confirmed control of the town, while a third source said that pro-government forces had entered it, without it being clear whether they had fully controlled it.
Alamata is of strategic importance as a major center for supplying forces with food and fuel, as well as its location near the southern border of Tigray with the Amhara region. Controlling it would allow federal forces to strengthen their advance north towards Mekelle, at a time when the government seeks to contain the attack launched by the Tigray People's Liberation Front forces.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front forces launched a massive attack last Wednesday, during which they were able to control Mekele Airport and two other airports, before advancing towards the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions, declaring that their operations came within the framework of what they described as a "defensive war" against the federal government headed by Abiy Ahmed.
A source reported that the “Front Front” fighters took control of the town of Erebti in the Afar region, near the Tigray border, on Sunday, and that they were advancing towards the town of Afdera, located about 100 kilometers to the east. The source estimated the number of displaced people in Afar at about 150,000 people, noting the difficulty of determining an accurate toll in light of the continuing battles.
The Afar Front is of vital importance to Ethiopia, as the military advance there aims, according to field estimates, to threaten the supply lines coming from Djibouti, through which the majority of Ethiopian imports pass, including fuel and basic goods.
Seven groups opposed to the federal government, including the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the Fano militia in Amhara, and the Oromo Liberation Army, announced the formation of a new alliance aimed at overthrowing Abiy Ahmed's government. The coalition vowed to launch “large-scale counterattacks” in response to the military operations of the federal forces.
In parallel with the military developments, the Tigray Television building, the main media platform for the regional authorities, was struck by a drone on Sunday morning in the capital, Mekele, causing damage to its facade and leading to the suspension of the channel’s live broadcast.
Since Friday, areas in northern Ethiopia have also witnessed an outage in telephone and Internet services, making it difficult to obtain independent information regarding field developments and the extent of losses. The NetBlox organization indicated that there had been widespread disruption in network connectivity in the north of the country.
The Ethiopian army commander, Field Marshal Berhanu Jula, accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of providing military and logistical support to the opposition forces, saying that his country faces groups “organized and allied to serve the interests of external powers.” The Sudanese army rejected the Ethiopian accusations, describing them as “unfounded,” while Eritrea denied in previous statements support for the Ethiopian opposition forces.
The renewed fighting threatens the peace agreement signed in Pretoria in November 2022, which ended a civil war that lasted from 2020 to 2022. The roots of the conflict go back to the collapse of relations between the Tigray People's Liberation Front and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
