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Ehtiopia: Tigray demand PM Abiy Ahmed to step down

Posted by Europe correspondent on

Brussels 24.09.2026 The European Union is deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating situation in Northern Ethiopia and its impact on the population, including reports of military activity across multiple localities, as well as the take-over of Mekelle, Axum and Shire airports in Tigray by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front forces. Over the past weeks the EU has followed with concern the several drone strikes conducted by the Ethiopian National Defence Force, the statement of the Statement by the Spokesperson on the situation in Northern Ethiopia reads.
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Immediate de-escalation is needed. It is not yet too late to decisively recommit to the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. Differences can only be resolved through dialogue and not military action” the statement continues.

“Respect for International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is imperative and non-negotiable, including protecting civilians at all times and respecting the impartiality and independence of humanitarian operations. In this vein, the EU strongly condemns strikes affecting humanitarian convoys and any instance of denial of humanitarian access”.

“The EU remains committed to supporting efforts towards de-escalation, the AU-led mediation process, and meaningful dialogue”.

Fears are growing that Ethiopia could be sliding back toward a devastating war in its northern Tigray region, as the government and the political party that controls Tigray accuse each other of launching new offensives.

Tigrayan forces have seized airports in Tigray, and fighting has spread beyond the region into neighboring Afar and Amhara, according to Ethiopian officials and Tigrayan authorities.

Ethiopian Airlines has suspended flights from Addis-Ababa Airport (pictured) to Tigray following the seizure of the airports.

Getachew Reda, an adviser to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, accused Tigrayan forces of launching an “all-out offensive” against government positions. Tigrayan authorities say their forces were responding defensively to attacks by federal troops.

The escalation follows months of rising tensions over territory, political power and the implementation of the 2022 peace agreement that ended the last war. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, or ACLED, says Ethiopian forces have carried out drone strikes targeting Tigrayan forces and officials from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, in recent months, with strikes concentrated in the capital, Mekelle, and southern Tigray.

The TPLF and the federal government fought a two-year war in Tigray that ended with a peace agreement in 2022. It was one of the world’s deadliest conflicts in recent times, with some estimates putting the death toll at around 600,000.

The TPLF is the political party that controls Tigray. It announced Sunday, Sep 20, that it had formed an alliance with six other armed and political groups seeking to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and establish a transitional government in Ethiopia.

Tigray is Ethiopia’s northernmost region, bordering Eritrea and home to most of the country’s Tigrayan population. Though Tigrayans make up about 6% of Ethiopia’s population, they have played an outsized role in national politics. Tigrayan forces helped overthrow a military regime in 1991, and TPLF leader Meles Zenawi went on to govern Ethiopia until his death in 2012.

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