Ethiopia: fighting intensifies between federal army and Tigray rebels in the north
Fighting between Ethiopia's federal army and Tigrayan forces continued in the north of the country and intensified over the weekend of 26-27 September on several fronts. The federal army took control of the road axis just below Alamata in southern Tigray, according to an allied militia, while Tigrayan forces and their allies seized several localities in Afar, including Erebti and Abala. The chief of the Ethiopian army accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting the armed groups fighting the federal army, and Sudan's army spokesman rejected the accusation.
Why it matters: The escalation bears on the briefing's conflict and regional-security theme, because the rebels' stated aim of cutting the Djibouti-Addis Ababa road would affect the capital's supply route and because the mutual accusations draw Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt into the war's diplomacy.