{"id":755098,"date":"2026-09-28T09:29:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T13:29:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/755098"},"modified":"2026-09-28T12:17:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T16:17:01","slug":"alamata-airstrikes-kill-14-civilians-as-abiy-ahmeds-war-opens-three-amhara-and-afar-fronts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/755098","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopian Gov\u2019t and Tigrayan forces fight on three fronts; Tigrayan officials say more than 21 strikes on Alamata killed at least 14"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fasil<\/p>\n

More than 21 airstrikes by drones and a fighter jet hit Alamata in southern Tigray on Tuesday, September 22, killing at least 14 people and injuring 22, according to the Tigrayan authorities. Alamata\u2019s mayor, Mogos Shiferaw, told the BBC that more than five drones and one fighter jet carried out the strikes starting at around 03:30. He said all of the dead and injured were civilians, and he accused federal forces of targeting two secondary schools. The BBC said it had not independently verified the claims, and the government had not commented on the alleged strikes.<\/p>\n

Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA) is a Brussels-based organisation that follows peace and refugee issues in the Horn of Africa. In its Horn Situation Report No. 764, dated September 24, it reported 21 airstrikes by drones and MiG aircraft, with 14 civilians killed and 22 injured. EEPA said the 22 injured people were taken to Alamata General Hospital. It describes its reports as fluid updates and says it verifies information as well as it can, but it does not claim that the information is correct.<\/p>\n

EEPA said three fronts were known to have opened on September 23 between the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), the federal army, and the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allies. The first runs along the Kobo-Tumuga line on the Tigray-Amhara border. There, EEPA described clashes between the ENDF, the TPLF, and the TPLF-allied Amhara Fano National Movement. It also reported military movement toward the road to Lalibela and fighting near Hagere Maryam, close to Weldiya.<\/p>\n

The second front opened along the Zata-Dinqa-Sekota line on the same border. The third has been seen along the route from Tonsa to Magala on the Tigray-Afar border. EEPA said it remains unclear exactly which forces are fighting in each place.<\/p>\n

Al Jazeera\u2019s September 26 explainer said the heavier fighting has raised fears that the 2022 peace agreement could collapse. The escalation came days after seven armed groups formed the Ethiopian Peoples\u2019 Forces Alliance for Survival, which aims to remove Abiy Ahmed\u2019s government. Al Jazeera named the TPLF, the Amhara Fano National Movement, and the Oromo Liberation Army among its largest members.<\/p>\n

Al Jazeera said fighting intensified in southern Tigray and spread into neighbouring Afar and Amhara. Each side blames the other for starting the latest major clashes. Al Jazeera said claims about individual attacks and territorial gains are difficult to verify independently while the fighting continues. It also noted that Tigrayan and Amhara members of the alliance still have competing claims to western Tigray.<\/p>\n

Zegabi reported on September 25 that the web monitor NetBlocks had recorded an internet disruption in northern Ethiopia, matching reports of a telecoms blackout in Tigray. The conflict monitor ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data) logged clashes in North Wollo and Wag Hemra on September 24. Zegabi said a blackout in such places makes the war harder to follow and makes it harder for relatives to reach each other.<\/p>\n

An earlier Zegabi report drew on the Amhara Association of America\u2019s (AAA) September 7 to 13 weekly update. That update recorded battles and rights violations across eight Amhara zones, including North Wollo, South Wollo, North Shewa, and Central Gonder. AAA is a U.S.-based advocacy group that documents harm to Amhara people.<\/p>\n

EEPA\u2019s September 24 report also said Eritrean troops have advanced into Western Tigray. It passed on eyewitness reports that uniformed security patrols in Addis Ababa have been forcibly detaining ethnic Tigrayans in the Ayat 49 and Semit neighborhoods. Those detained said they were released only after paying ransom money. EEPA also said people on social media have been warning Tigrayans in the capital to stay alert in public places such as coffee houses and roads.<\/p>\n

EEPA reported that the Ethiopian Media Authority suspended the license of Tigray TV indefinitely, saying its content \u201cthreatens national and public security.\u201d It said Getachew Reda, the prime minister\u2019s adviser on East African affairs, accused Eritrea and Egypt of backing Ethiopian armed groups, including the TPLF, Amhara Fano, and the Oromo Liberation Army. He described it as a proxy campaign to weaken the federal government.<\/p>\n

EEPA further reported that the TPLF took control of the airports in Mekelle, Axum, and Shire, and that flights to and from all three were suspended. Two drone strikes on September 22 in Tahtay Adiyabo Woreda, in the Sheraro area, landed in a farming area without casualties. EEPA also reported intense fighting in the southern Tigray-Afar border area and new fighting along the Tekeze river near the Eritrean border. In Afar, EEPA said the ENDF and the Tigray Peace Forces, a splinter faction of the TPLF, have joined forces.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n