The Afar regional administration says Tigray forces entered the Megale district, seized six villages and shelled civilian pastoralists using mortars and heavy artillery. Tigray’s interim authorities deny the claims and accuse Afar-based groups of repeated attacks. A humanitarian source confirmed clashes and displacement but reported no known casualties. Observers warn rising tensions and recent federal moves, including a halt of 2 billion+ birrs to Tigray, have increased the risk of renewed conflict.
Afar Accuses Tigray Forces of Seizing Six Villages and Shelling Civilians — TPLF Denies
The Afar regional administration says Tigray forces entered the Megale district, seized six villages and shelled civilian pastoralists using mortars and heavy artillery. Tigray’s interim authorities deny the claims and accuse Afar-based groups of repeated attacks. A humanitarian source confirmed clashes and displacement but reported no known casualties. Observers warn rising tensions and recent federal moves, including a halt of 2 billion+ birrs to Tigray, have increased the risk of renewed conflict.
01:59, 07.11.2025Conflict
Summary: Ethiopia's Afar regional administration says forces from neighbouring Tigray entered the Megale district, seized six villages and shelled civilian pastoralists with mortars and heavy artillery. Tigray's interim authorities reject the claims as "baseless" and accuse Afar-based forces of repeated attacks. Independent verification of the incident is lacking.
What Afar says
The Afar regional administration issued a statement saying the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) "entered Afar territory and forcefully took control of six villages, bombarding civilians with mortars and (heavy artillery)." Officials warned they would "undertake its defensive duty to protect itself" if attacks continued.
Tigray response
Late Thursday, Tigray's interim authorities dismissed the allegations as "baseless" and part of a "malicious plot to deliberately harm the Tigrayan people." In their statement they also accused armed groups in Afar of carrying out "repeated attacks" in recent years. AFP has said it could not independently verify who conducted the strikes.
Humanitarian impact
A source at a humanitarian agency, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed clashes in Afar and said fighting had ended by late Wednesday. "Many people were displaced. I have not heard of any casualties," the source told AFP. The Afar statement specifically alleges civilian pastoralists were targeted in the Megale district.
Expert analysis and wider context
Kjetil Tronvoll, a scholar of the region at Oslo New University College, told AFP it was not yet clear what triggered the latest skirmish, but warned Ethiopia has been on a "path to war" for months as fault lines harden between Tigray and the federal government.
The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics from 1991 until 2018, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed rose to power and the group was sidelined. In May the Electoral Commission barred the TPLF from political activity on a technicality. Last month the federal government accused the TPLF in a letter to the United Nations of forging ties with Eritrea and of "actively preparing to wage war against Ethiopia." The finance ministry also halted the disbursement of more than 2 billion birrs (about $13.1 million) destined for Tigray.
Prime Minister Abiy told parliament that much of the budget allocated to Tigray was being diverted for military purposes, harming civilians. The Tigray region, home to roughly six million people, remains financially strained and still hosts about one million people displaced by the 2020–22 conflict, which is estimated to have caused around 600,000 deaths.
Note: AFP and other outlets said they were unable to independently verify the responsible party for the reported attacks.