DOMINANT ANGLE
Paris is watching Ethiopia's military shift towards total war, four years after Pretoria, front by front.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Tigrayan forces and their allies have taken the airports of Mekele, Axoum, and Shire, as well as the town of Abala in Afar, and have been encircling Woldiya in Amhara since September 23 (RFI).
- 02
Tigray authorities accuse Addis Ababa of launching an invasion "backed by infantry", while Minister Getachew Reda accuses the TPLF of having "launched a large-scale offensive" in Afar and Amhara (Le Monde).
- 03
The September 22 offensive comes two days after the announcement of a coalition of seven armed groups aiming to overthrow the federal government of Abiy Ahmed (RFI).
ANALYSIS
Paris, Thursday, September 24, 2026. The French press describes an Ethiopia teetering, four years after the Pretoria peace agreement, towards a new large-scale conflict in the north of the country. Le Monde and RFI detailed, on Wednesday, September 23, the takeover by Tigrayan forces and their allies of the airports of Mekele, Axoum, and Shire, as well as the town of Abala in Afar, while the crossroads town of Woldiya, in Amhara, has been encircled since the same day.
According to RFI, this coordinated offensive on three fronts was launched on Tuesday, September 22, two days after the announcement of a new coalition of seven armed groups aiming to overthrow the federal government of Abiy Ahmed. In Afar, the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF), associated with the United Democratic Revolutionary Front of Afar, took Abala, which was previously held by forces allied to the federal army: "There was shooting to celebrate their victory and checkpoints have been set up around the town," reports a humanitarian source cited by RFI's correspondent in Addis Ababa. The Fano militia, which has been in open conflict with Addis Ababa since April 2023, is also participating in the fighting in Amhara.
Le Monde reports the cross-accusations accompanying this escalation. The de facto authorities of Tigray claim that the federal government has "openly launched an invasion and an attack against [the TPLF], supported by infantry," adding that their army "has been ordered to counter this attack and this genocidal invasion, and has engaged in a defensive battle." In the opposite direction, Getachew Reda, Ethiopian Minister of East African Affairs and former TPLF official, accuses the rebels of having "launched a large-scale offensive against government positions in the Afar and Amhara regions."
The French media recall the context: the 2022 agreement had put an end to two years of a war deemed extremely deadly between Addis Ababa and the TPLF, which was removed in 2025 from the list of authorized parties. Tigray is a neighbor of Eritrea and Sudan, which already fuels fears of regional contagion in a fragile Horn of Africa.
At this stage, the French coverage prioritizes the military narrative, front by front, over the fate of civilian populations or the diplomatic outcome of this crisis.
