A humanitarian source told AFP Erebti in Afar fell to TPLF rebels Sunday after heavy artillery and said fighters were advancing toward Afdeera, 100 km east. A drone hit Tigrai TV’s Mekelle headquarters; photos showed damage, and no casualty reports were immediately available.
The humanitarian source estimated that at least 150,000 people had been displaced in Afar, while cautioning that precise numbers were impossible. Key telecoms providers reported major phone and internet disruptions in Tigray from Friday, complicating coverage. A journalist said Tigrai TV was off air after the strike; the federal government had already announced on Sept. 21 that the station was suspended indefinitely and barred other outlets from broadcasting its reports.
Heavy clashes between TPLF and federal government forces resumed this past week. The TPLF described its campaign as a “defensive war”; the offensive in Afar is aimed at cutting supplies from Djibouti, which provides almost all of Ethiopia’s international trade cargo, including fuel. Renewed fighting has raised fears of a return to the 2020–22 civil war, in which an estimated 600,000 died. The 2022 peace agreement was never fully implemented, leaving around one million people unable to return home.
