Residents Report Heavy Fighting and Infrastructure Strikes as MSF Warns of Critical Medical Disruptions Across Northern Ethiopia
By Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — At least over 50 people were killed in just the past three days in heavy weapon attacks reported in Alamata and surrounding areas, local residents and a hospital source stated.
Residents added that heavy fighting took place in Alamata and its surroundings from September 26 to September 29, 2026.
These residents, who said they could not determine who carried out the attacks, stated that the number of people killed in attacks carried out in the town and surrounding areas exceeds 50.
A resident of Alamata town stated that in the fighting that took place over these four to five days from Friday to Monday, approximately 65 innocent people died, while the number of wounded remains unknown.
This resident, who stated that the fighting between the federal government army and TPLF forces had turned the area into a combat zone, noted that civilians were not harmed by drone attacks, explaining that the damage was caused by an attack carried out with heavy weapons.
The resident explained that the heavy weapon strikes occurred at a market area, on the road leading from Alamata to Korem, as well as in the area of a hotel known as Wurginesh. The renewed conflict between the federal government and Tigrayan forces erupted after TPLF forces took control of three airports in the region.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF), in a statement released on Monday, September 28, 2026, disclosed the number of patients who entered hospitals in Tigray after being wounded in the conflict.
The organization stated that over 300 wounded patients entered Suhul Hospital in Shire, northwestern Tigray, with the institution’s support on September 25, 2026. The organization also announced that due to the current situation, activities at Alamata Hospital have been interrupted.
Doctors Without Borders described the current situation in northern Ethiopia as very dangerous, indicating that residents are fleeing the conflict and that it is monitoring the situation of displaced people while preparing to address their needs in the Tigray, Amhara, and Afar regions. It noted that, given the escalating conflict, the safety of innocent citizens and access to health services are concerning.
The war in northern Ethiopia, which erupted in November 2020 and lasted for about two years, saw tensions between the federal government and TPLF forces escalate again after it ended four years ago through African Union mediation, officially entering into renewed conflict last week. It is estimated that over 600,000 people died in the two-year war in Tigray, which was concluded by the peace agreement signed in Pretoria, South Africa.
While telephone and internet services were interrupted in Tigray, residents also stated that flights had stopped in Lalibela, a historical heritage site in the Amhara Region.
The United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the United Arab Emirates condemned the attacks the TPLF claims were carried out in neighboring regions and southern Tigray, as well as its takeover of airports in the Tigray Region, and stated that they were concerned about the escalation of the conflict.
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