Ethiopian forces battled overnight to repel an assault by Tigray rebels in the Afar region, a humanitarian source said Friday, with reports of an internet blackout in the north of the country.
The TPLF has forged an alliance with six other armed groups around the country in a bid to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. AFP was unable to contact sources in the region by phone on Friday (September 25, 2026). The government has a significant military advantage, however, with a large arsenal of drones, an army numbering some 500,000, and the support of external actors, notably the United Arab Emirates.
Rebels in the northern Tigray region seized local airports and launched attacks into the neighbouring states of Afar and Amhara this week, saying they were once again in a “full-blown war” with the federal government. Online monitor Netblocks said there was an “internet disruption in northern Ethiopia corresponding to reports of a telecoms blackout in Tigray”. A humanitarian source in Afar said there was “heavy fighting overnight” around the town of Abala that sits in the mountains on the border with Tigray. “The federal forces pushed the rebels from entering the town,” the source said, adding that a drone was used by the army. “The alliance is likely trying to seize settlements alongside key infrastructure routes to undermine federal government’s ability to supply,” Edward Bach of consultancy firm Verisk Maplecroft told AFP .
