Airstrikes, artillery hit north Ethiopia as government and rebels clash, sources say
The Hindu – International
You are logged in
Loading…
You don’t have any Active Subscription.
Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one.
Your active subscription(s)
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials,
Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
Products you’ve access to
Additional Subscription Benefits
Account Settings
Need help with your subscription?
Weather News October 5, 2026 e-Paper
The View From India
Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.
First Day First Show
News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.
Today's Cache
Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.
Science For All
The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in!
Data Point
Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers
THEdge
At the cutting edge of education and careers
Health Matters
Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there
Gender Agenda
Stories from beyond the binary.
The Hindu On Books
Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.
Weather News October 5, 2026 e-Paper
Published – October 05, 2026 11:04 pm IST
Airstrikes and artillery fire rocked northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region overnight into Monday (October 5, 2026), aid sources said, in clashes between federal government and rebel forces that have raised fears of wider fighting.
Air attacks killed at least 17 people northwest of Tigray’s capital Mekelle — which federal government forces took over the weekend — according to a bulletin circulated among humanitarian groups.
The bulletin added that the government forces exchanged artillery fire with fighters loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front — part of a rebel alliance aiming to overthrow Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
Spokespeople for Mr. Abiy’s office, the federal Ethiopian National Defence Force and the TPLF did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reports, which Reuters could not confirm independently.
Analysts say the fighting threatens to escalate into a wider conflict, with Ethiopia accusing neighbouring Eritrea and Sudan, and beyond them Egypt, of supporting the armed opposition. All three countries have denied this.
Last week, Ethiopia and Eritrea, which fought a border war from 1998-2000, severed diplomatic ties over the allegations.
On Sunday (October 4, 2026), the leaders of Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia discussed the crisis during a meeting, according to two Egyptian security officials and one political official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
They agreed to coordinate military and intelligence efforts if the conflict escalated to the borders Ethiopia shares with Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia, the sources added, without going into further detail
The fighting since September 23 is the worst escalation of violence since a 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.
On Monday (October 5, 2026) morning, Ethiopia’s military and Tigrayan forces exchanged heavy artillery fire close to the Tekeze River near the town of Mai Tsebri, according to the humanitarian bulletin.
Overnight, airstrikes killed at least nine people in Adwa, which is about 100 km northwest of Mekelle, and eight in Sheraro in northwestern Tigray, the bulletin said.
It did not say who launched the airstrikes.
Another aid worker confirmed the strikes in Adwa, but did not have information about casualties.
In Mekelle, which Tigrayan forces left without a fight, daily life was returning to normal, with shops reopening and phone and internet access returning a week-long disruption, residents said.
On Saturday (October 3, 2026), the U.S. State Department urged Asmara and Addis Ababa to exercise restraint, warning that a conflict would jeopardise U.S. collaboration with both countries.
Eritrean forces fought in support of Ethiopia’s federal government in Tigray during the 2020-2022 war following a 2018 normalisation of ties between the longtime foes that won Mr. Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.
Relations soured afterward, in part over landlocked Ethiopia’s public insistence that sea access is vital for its security and economy.
In a speech to parliament on Monday (October 5, 2026), Mr. Abiy emphasised the need to have access to the sea.
“Ethiopia’s modernisation cannot be realised without sea access,” he said after being sworn in for another five-year term following his Prosperity Party’s landslide victory in June’s parliamentary elections.
Eritrea says it fears Ethiopia will try to take its Assab port by force. Mr. Abiy has said Ethiopia intends to secure sea access through peaceful means.
Published – October 05, 2026 11:04 pm IST
Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
BACK TO TOP
Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
Fonte: The Hindu – International
