Ethiopian Federal Forces Capture Strategic Town of Alamata in Tigray

Federal forces in Ethiopia have captured the strategic town of Alamata in Tigray following three days of heavy fighting that left 52 civilians dead, as renewed conflict expands across the northern region and triggers diplomatic fallout with Eritrea and Egypt.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front asserted it was responding to a federal offensive involving drone strikes, while the federal government maintained that Tigrayan forces struck first after storming three national airports in the region. The war began in November 2020 between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which dominated Ethiopia’s political system for years before Abiy Ahmed rose to power. That earlier conflict concluded in November 2022 with a peace agreement signed in Pretoria, South Africa.

Government Forces Secure Alamata and Rescue Trapped Foreign Visitors

Commercial flights ground to a halt when regional forces seized control of local airports, stranding 33 tourists in Lalibela.

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As government troops secured Alamata and advanced northward toward the regional capital of Mekelle, the fighting trapped dozens of international visitors in nearby tourist hubs. The Israeli Foreign Ministry and its embassy in Addis Ababa coordinated a rescue mission involving ground transport and military aircraft to extract citizens caught in the combat zone. Twenty Israelis reached a safe city overland under military escort, while a second group of 25 travelers, including elderly visitors, was rescued in a helicopter evacuation. An NGO convoy also evacuated five individuals by road, while military helicopters airlifted 14 Israeli tourists out of the area. Of the remaining tourists in Lalibela, the largest group were Americans, with Israelis, Britons, South Korean, South Africans, an Ethiopian-New Zealander and a Mexican also stranded.

Diplomatic Relations Collapse and Regional Conflict Expands

The renewed violence quickly extended beyond Tigray’s borders into the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions, where rebel fighters pushed into strategic transport corridors before government counter-offensives drove them back.

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The Ethiopian government accused neighboring Eritrea of supporting insurgent groups and severed diplomatic ties, expelling 10 Eritrean diplomats and shuttering its embassy in Asmara. Eritrea responded by announcing it would sever all diplomatic ties. The African Union, based in Ethiopia, stated it was following the tensions between Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Egypt with concern, urging maximum restraint.

Communications Blackouts Isolate Civilians in Tigray

Internet connectivity, telephone networks, banking, and power supplies were cut off across Tigray, leaving residents without access to money transfers or basic provisions. Medical facilities strained under the influx of wounded individuals, with towns swelling with people fleeing the fighting on foot.

Ethiopian Federal Forces Capture Strategic Town of Alamata in Tigray — Photo: The Jerusalem Post

Amnesty International called on the African Union Peace and Security Council to convene an emergency session, warning that communications disruptions frequently conceal grave human rights violations and isolate civilians from life-saving assistance. Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, emphasized that regional and international actors, including the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and the United Nations, must address the deeply entrenched accountability crisis in Ethiopia. UNICEF similarly reported that residential areas, public facilities, and children had suffered amid the escalating hostilities, demanding unimpeded humanitarian access to protect civilian infrastructure.