A drone struck the headquarters of Tigray TV in Mekelle on September 27, 2026, knocking the public broadcaster off the air as intense fighting and rebel advances resumed across northern Ethiopia, threatening the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement that ended a devastating civil war.
Drone Strike Hits Tigray TV in Mekelle
Photographs from the scene show the facade of the Tigray TV building blackened and scorched, with multiple windows blown out by the blast. While no immediate casualties were reported among the staff, the physical damage forced the network off the air. The strike followed the federal government’s September 21 announcement in Addis Ababa that Tigrai TV was being placed under an “indefinitely” enforced suspension, alongside a ban prohibiting other media from broadcasting its material. Tigrai TV is considered the official organ of the Front de libération du peuple du Tigré (TPLF), and it was on its antenna on September 20 that the formation of a new coalition of armed groups against the federal government had been announced.
Renewed Frontline Combat and Rebel Offensives Across Northern Regions
The strike on the broadcaster unfolded against a backdrop of collapsing peace and escalating warfare across Tigray, Amhara, and Afar. Armed conflict erupted anew when the Front de libération du peuple du Tigré (TPLF) indicated they were responding to an invasionof Ethiopian federal forces, with the authorities of the rebel Tigray declaring themselves in atotal war against the federal government. Fierce fighting involving TPLF units, Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) soldiers, and allied militias has broken out across Tigray, Amhara, and Afar starting around September 23, in the wake of Wednesday’s resumption of hostilities.
In the southern Tigray corridor, fighting has been particularly intense near Alamata, a city of 80,000 inhabitants. According to military sources, the army now controls the localities of Kobo and Waja, located a few kilometers from Alamata on a strategic axis leading to Tigray. A researcher wishing to remain anonymous advanced that the capture of Alamata could constitute a strategic advance for the army, explaining that neither the TDF, nor the federal troops can afford to abandon Alamata
as the largest city after the border with Amhara, leading to expectations of an intensification of combats in the zone in the coming days. A source based on place noted that fear dominates among inhabitants, who no longer dare to leave their homes for fear of drone strikes.
A source at a local NGO indicated to AFP that TPLF forces had seized the locality of Erebti on Sunday—located in a mountainous zone about sixty kilometers from the Tigray border by road—after intense combats involving heavy artillery fire. According to this source, Tigrayan fighters are now progressing toward the locality of Afdera, located a hundred kilometers further east, which serves as a barrier toward the single axis arriving from Djibouti, from where the essentials of landlocked Ethiopia’s imports arrive.
| Combat Zone | Controlling Force / Claimant | Strategic Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Mekelle | Federal drone strike / ENDF | Targeted Tigray TV station; regional capital |
| Alamata & Kobo/Waja | Federal counter-offensive / ENDF | Strategic southern Tigray corridor and border gateway near Amhara |
| Erebti (Afar) | TPLF / Tigrayan forces | Mountainous transit route pushing toward Afdera and the Djibouti import axis |
Regional Alliances and Finger-Pointing Amid Communications Blackouts
The renewed hostilities follow the announcement made on Tigrai TV on September 20 regarding the formation of a new coalition of armed groups against the federal government, which led to the station’s suspension by the Media Authority the following day. Communications and internet services have been in large part cut off in Tigray and its surroundings since Friday, when key telecoms providers reported major disruptions to phone and internet services, making the evolution of the fighting difficult to determine.
The renewed violence has also raised concerns about civilian displacement, particularly around the Tigray-Afar border, while flights to destinations including Lalibela have been suspended. The conflict that previously devastated the region from 2020 to 2022 was estimated to have killed as many as 600,000 people, leaving communities on edge as the latest clashes threaten the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement.