Rebels in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region have seized the airport in the regional capital Mekelle, media reported on Wednesday, as the longstanding conflict between opposition groups and the central government intensified.
Forces of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) overwhelmed government troops securing the airport during an attack. The national carrier Ethiopian Airlines cancelled all flights to and from Tigray.
Fighting also continued in a neighbouring region, media reports said.
The airport's capture marks a further escalation in a conflict simmering for months in Tigray following two years of civil war from 2020-2022. Some 600,000 people are estimated to have died during that period.
The TPLF no longer recognizes the peace deal.
The Ethiopian government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is now again facing off against the TPLF, which ruled Ethiopia for decades before Abiy took office.
Opposition groups aim to overthrow government
Prior to the capture of the airport, an alliance of several ideologically diverse opposition groups declared their intention to overthrow Abiy's government. The TPLF is part of this alliance.
Abiy's Prosperity Party (PP) clearly won the election in Africa's second most populous country in June. The election was not held in Tigray.
Human rights groups criticized the vote, stating it was neither free nor fair, partly because leaders of several opposition parties were imprisoned.
In light of rising tensions in Tigray, experts warn of a potential relapse into civil war and an expansion into a proxy war involving Ethiopia's northern neighbour Eritrea and Sudan to the north-west.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/rebels-seize-airport-ethiopias-tigray-140424031.html
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