Europe External Programme with Africa is a Belgium-based Centre of Expertise with in-depth knowledge, publications, and networks, specialised in issues of peacebuilding, refugee protection, and resilience in the Horn of Africa. EEPA has published extensively on issues related to the movement and/or human trafficking of refugees in the Horn of Africa and on the Central Mediterranean Route. It cooperates with a wide network of universities, research organisations, civil society, and experts from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, and across Africa. The Situation Reports can be found here. To receive the situation report in your e-mail, click here. You can unsubscribe at any moment through the link at the bottom of each e-mail.
Situation in Tigray and Ethiopia (per 24 September)
- Fighting broke out between Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allied forces across several fronts this week, with both sides accusing each other of launching offensives.
- Three fronts are known to have opened up on 23 September.
- The first front is along Kobo-Tumuga line, Tigray-Amhara border, with clashes between the ENDF, TPLF and TPLF-allied Amhara Fano National Movement (AFNM). Military movement was also seen towards the road to Lalibela with fighting reported near Hagere Maryam in Amhara, close to Weldiya.
- The second front opened along the Zata, Dinqa and Sekota line, Tigray-Amhara border.
- The third front has been seen along the route from Tonsa to Magala, along the Tigray-Afar border.
- In Afar, ENDF and Tigray Peace Forces (TPF) have joined forces. TPF is a splinter faction of the TPLF.
- 21 airstrikes were seen in Alamata, involving drones and MiG aircraft, killing 14 civilians. 22 others were injured and brought to Alamata General Hospital for medical treatment.
- TPLF seized control over 3 regional airports in Mekelle, Axum and Shire, with flights being suspended from and to all three locations.
- Two drone strikes were carried out on 22 September in Tahtay Adiyabo Woreda, Ademeiti Tabia, Kokob Kebele, in the Sheraro area. The strikes targeted an area between the Enda Selassie church and residential houses. The drones landed in an agricultural area and did not cause any casualties.
- This morning intense fighting is reported from the southern Tigray-Afar border area.
- New fighting started along Tekeze river near the Eritrean border and central area.
- It remains unclear which forces exactly are fighting in the various locations.
- Last night, the ENDF conducted several drone strikes in the area along the Eritrean border in Western Tigray. It seems the ENDF was expecting offensives there.
- Eritrean troops have advanced into Western Tigray.
- Eyewitnesses in Addis Ababa report that uniformed security patrols are carried out in Addis Abeba, and forcibly detaining ethnic Tigrayans, specifically in the Ayat 49 and Semit neighborhoods. Those that were captured stated that they were released only after paying ransom money to their captors.
- People on social media are sharing information warning Tigrayans in Addis Ababa to be cautious and stay alert within public spaces such as coffee houses and roads.
- Getachew Reda, the Advisor to the Prime Minister on East African Affairs, accused Eritrea and Egypt of backing Ethiopian armed groups, including TPLF, Amhara Fano, and Oromo Liberation Army, through a proxy campaign aimed at weakening the Ethiopian federal government and expanding regional influence.
- TPLF, Fano and OLA alliance is seen to be tactical rather than strategic due to unresolved disagreements, with Eritrea and Sudan backing the alliance, according to Jawar Mohammed, adding that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are supporting the Eritrea–TPLF side, and the UAE and Israel supporting the federal government.
- The Ethiopian Media Authority (EMA) suspended the license of Tigray TV indefinitely stating its content “threatens national and public security”.
- Security personnel guarding the residence of General Tadesse Werede, former head of Tigray Interim Regional Administration, were replaced, leaving his family unable to enter or leave the property. Gen. Tadesse has been under house arrest since TPLF removed him from his office in May.
- Relatives described the change as unexpected and said they had received no explanation.
- Colonel Tewelde Gebretensay, head of military intelligence, and Mr. Isaias Tadesse, former Interim President Advisor in the rank of Vice President of Gen. Tadesse, have also been arrested by TPLF for their alleged objections to going to war, according to Ethiopian online media outlet.
Migration and refugee situation (per 24 September)
- More than 3,400 refugees have arrived in the town of Tawila, North Darfur, Sudan, since the beginning of September. Aid agencies struggle to provide food, clean water and medicines for all.
- Harsh living conditions, including problems with the water supply, the absence of air conditioning, a lack of basic hygiene, and cruel treatment by the police, have been reported by refugees staying at the Temporary Reception of Asylum Seekers in Sintiki, Greece.
- The number of people migrating to the Horn of Africa has increased exponentially since the war in Yemen began, reports UNHCR. 4,000 Yemeni refugees have arrived in Djibouti, while 8,000 in Somalia.
- Extreme weather in Kenya and across the Horn of Africa, are causing prolonged droughts and flash floods, forcing many people to migrate to urban centres to escape distress and conflicts over resources.
- The EU Parliament (EP) denounced the use of irregular migrants as a tool of hybrid warfare and emphasised the need to uphold the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ceuta and Melilla.
- The newly adopted EP resolution condemned Spain’s large-scale regularisation approach affirming it was a “pull factor” and a “wrong signal”, and that Spain should implement the Migration and Asylum Pact.
Regional and international situation (per 24 September)
- A new statement condemns the lifting of sanctions on Eritrea by the US and urges Europe to pursue value-based regional strategy, arguing that Eritrea’s authoritarian regime is an unreliable partner for regional stability.
- The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) launched heavy air strikes on the night of 21 September, targeting a critical administrative and logistics base for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Nyala, breaking months of tranquillity in the South Darfur capital.
- Five people were killed and dozens wounded in an attack by the RSF on a gold mining market in North Kordofan on 21 September. The attack created further displacement.
- The US denied an entry visa to Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, preventing him from attending the UN General Assembly in New York, because he refused to sign a 90-day ceasefire proposed by Massad Boulos, a US senior advisor.
- South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir dissolved the transitional unity government and formed a caretaker administration on 22 September, prior to the country’s first elections scheduled for December. Kiir will remain in power until the next elected president takes office.
Links of interest
Ethiopia Conflict Alert: The TPLF Move On Critical Sites After Heading a New Alliance. A new phase of the next war?
Ethiopia and Tigray accuse each of launching offensives, fuelling fears of new war
News: Media Authority suspends Tigray TV indefinitely; bars media outlets from citing its content
Getachew Reda Accuses Eritrea and Egypt of Sponsoring Proxy Forces in Ethiopia
ጀነራል ታደሰ፡ ዝሓለፈ ለይቲ ኣብ መንበሪ ቤቱ እንታይ ኣጋጢሙ?
በሻዕቢያ ትእዛዝ እነ ጌታቸው አሰፋ የሚያስፈፅሙት እስር|Awramba Times
Over 3,400 displaced people reach North Darfur’s Tawila facing dire shortages
‘Death is preferable to this’: inside Greece’s Sintiki migrant detention centre
Yemen Situation: Displacement overview (as of 21 Sept 2026)
Climate Change, Conflict Driving More Young People to Migrate
Ceuta: Parliament demands stronger protection of EU’s external borders
Public statement on the US lifting sanctions on Eritrea
Sudanese army resumes air strikes on paramilitary-held South Darfur capital
Sudan paramilitary attack on gold market kills five, activists say
US ties Sudanese army leader’s UN visa to ceasefire plan, sources say
South Sudan’s Kiir dissolves government ahead of first national elections
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