Putri Anggraini
Ethiopia's top military commander has publicly accused Sudan and Egypt of providing support to armed groups battling federal troops in the country's northern region, sharply raising tensions in a conflict that appears to be widening by the day. Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, speaking through a video message distributed on the army's official YouTube channel on Sunday, claimed his forces were confronting organized militias that are allied with foreign interests. He argued that these fighters could not possibly make battlefield gains without being backed, supplied, and supported by Sudan, Egypt, and other outside powers.
The allegation represents one of the most direct accusations Addis Ababa has leveled at its neighbors since heavy fighting reignited last Wednesday between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The renewed hostilities have revived painful memories of the 2020-2022 civil war, a brutal two-year conflict that is estimated to have claimed the lives of around 600,000 people before a peace agreement was reached in November 2022.
Sudan's military responded swiftly and firmly to the accusation, issuing a statement on Sunday that dismissed the claims as entirely baseless. In a counteraccusation, the Sudanese armed forces alleged that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — the paramilitary group it has been fighting in Sudan's own civil war since 2023 — was receiving assistance from within Ethiopian territory. According to the Sudanese military, this support includes training, supplies, and military operations involving drones. The exchange of accusations illustrates how the overlapping conflicts in the Horn of Africa and Sudan have become deeply entangled.
The latest round of fighting between the TPLF and Ethiopian federal forces began on Wednesday, shattering a ceasefire that had largely held for nearly three years. The resumption of hostilities has prompted international observers and regional analysts to warn that Ethiopia could be sliding back toward full-scale civil war. The human and humanitarian costs of such a relapse would be severe, given that the previous conflict displaced millions and left large parts of Tigray's infrastructure destroyed.
On Sunday, the headquarters of Tigrai TV — widely regarded as the primary media outlet for the rebel authorities in Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region — was struck by a drone. Al Jazeera's Malcolm Webb, reporting from Nairobi, noted that Ethiopia's federal government had announced last week that the station's operations were suspended indefinitely. While the government has not commented on the drone strike itself, Webb pointed out that the attack followed a significant disruption of communications across Tigray.
Telecommunications providers reported major interruptions to both phone and internet services in Tigray starting Friday, severely hampering efforts to report on the conflict. Webb explained that it remains unclear who is responsible for the communications blackout. It could be the federal government repeating tactics used during the previous civil war, or it could be the TPLF attempting to prevent electronic communications from being used by the federal government to coordinate drone strikes. The ambiguity underscores how information warfare has become a central feature of this conflict.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is said to be particularly troubled by reports of drone usage and incidents involving harm to civilians, according to his spokesman. However, no precise figures on casualties have been independently confirmed, in part because the communications blackout has made verification extremely difficult. The lack of reliable information has raised concerns among humanitarian organizations about the ability to assess needs and deliver aid to affected populations.
The TPLF has reportedly seized airports and launched attacks into the neighboring states of Afar and Amhara, framing its actions as a "defensive war" against the federal government. A source told Al Jazeera Arabic that the Ethiopian army has taken control of Alamata, a city in southern Tigray, and is advancing toward Mekhoni and Maychew, pushing deeper into the region. Meanwhile, according to the AFP news agency, TPLF fighters captured the town of Erebti in the Afar region near the Tigray border on Sunday and were advancing toward Afdera, a town approximately 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the east.
The TPLF's offensive in Afar appears to mirror a strategy from the previous war: pushing toward the capital, Addis Ababa. A key objective of the Afar operation is to sever supply lines from Djibouti, the source of the majority of Ethiopia's imports, including fuel. Cutting off that corridor would deal a severe blow to the federal government's ability to sustain its military operations and would also have major consequences for the civilian economy, which depends heavily on imported goods.
The TPLF has allied with six other armed groups from across the country, forming a coalition announced just last week. The alliance, known as the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival, has stated that its goal is to overthrow Abiy's government. Notably, the coalition brings together longstanding adversaries who fought on opposite sides of the 2020-2022 civil war — a development that suggests the opposition to the current government has become an unlikely but potent convergence of interests.
The formation of this alliance adds a new and unpredictable dimension to the conflict. If the disparate groups can coordinate effectively, they could stretch the federal military across multiple fronts, complicating its ability to concentrate forces in Tigray. However, such coalitions are often fragile, and the underlying rivalries among the members could resurface as battlefield dynamics shift.
Regional implications are equally serious. Sudan is already consumed by its own internal war, and any suggestion of its involvement in Ethiopia's conflict risks further destabilizing the wider region. Egypt, which has long been at odds with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, has not publicly responded to the accusation. Egypt's purported interest in the conflict may stem from its desire to pressure Addis Ababa on the dam dispute, though no evidence has been presented publicly to substantiate Ethiopia's claims.
The international community's response has thus far been limited to expressions of concern. The United Nations has called for restraint, but with global attention divided among multiple crises, there is little indication that major powers are prepared to intervene decisively. The risk remains that the conflict could escalate further, with civilians once again bearing the heaviest cost. For now, the situation in northern Ethiopia remains volatile, with fighting continuing, communications cut, and the diplomatic fallout from the accusations against Sudan and Egypt still unfolding.
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