Ethiopia is at War. Here's What You Need to Know
Simon Whistler • October 1, 2026
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Note: this transcript was generated by AI and may contain errors or inconsistencies.
Ethiopia is at war again. Months of tension between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, a political party that dominated Ethiopian politics for 27 years, has finally boiled over. And emphasis there on "finally".
Regional observers have been warning for months that a return to large-scale fighting was on the way. In May, the TPLF executed a power grab, removing the former leader of the Tigray region, Lieutenant General Teresa Warada, and replacing him with a new regional council, chaired by Dabretzian Gebremikhiel.
Gebremikhiel is not only the chairperson of the TPLF, but also the guy who led the Tigray region during the brutal war with the national government from 2020 to 2022.
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About this briefing
The TPLF aims to sever Ethiopia's supply line through Djibouti while a fractious rebel alliance targets Abiy Ahmed — a war that could yet pull in Eritrea and Sudan.