Daily record · 23 Sep 2026
Ethiopia war, 23 Sep 2026: what happened
42 reports on 23 Sep 2026: 24 independently verified, 18 claimed by a party. 0 drone or air strikes, 0 changes of control, 272 people reported killed.
All reports of the day
- 23 Sep 202642
Development · Unknown place
Flight-tracking data showed two cargo aircraft from Minsk and Cairo heading to Port Sudan on 2026-09-23, and the post suggested they may have been carrying military supplies for the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Statement · Arada Sub City, Region 14, Addis Ababa
Flight tracking shows a US Air Force C-12C Huron (reg. 73-1218) flying from Nairobi to Bole in Addis Ababa and then north and back within about two hours on 23 September; the monitor speculates it may have carried US officials looking into the aid-truck strike.
Statement · Unknown place
Flight tracking shows two Batot Air IL-76TD cargo aircraft (XT-ABL and XT-ABG) departing Al Ain Airport in the UAE for East Africa on 23 September, likely bound for Ethiopia, which the monitor describes as continuing UAE military supplies to Ethiopia.
Battle · Unknown place
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said TPLF-deployed fighters crossed into border areas of the Afar region and launched attacks.
Battle · Lasta, North Wello, Amhara
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission verified clashes between government security forces and TPLF-deployed fighters in Wag Hemra Zone border areas and Lasta woreda of North Wollo.
Control change · Axum town, Central, Tigray
The UN Secretary-General voiced grave concern over the seizure and occupation of the Mekelle, Axum and Shire airports and reports of intensified fighting in and around Tigray.
Battle · Unknown place
A Simret party official said artillery and infantry engagements began at two locations along the Sekota (Dega) front on 23 September 2026, part of a TPLF push toward Lalibela.
Battle · Unknown place
A Simret party official said heavy fighting broke out around Sonsa on the afternoon of 23 September 2026 as TPLF forces launched operations on several fronts.
Battle · Erebti, Kilbati /Zone 2, Afar
Humanitarian workers in Afar reported fighting between TPLF and federal forces in Abala and Erebti, and a foreign security source said the TPLF controlled Abala.
Control change · Abaala town, Kilbati /Zone 2, Afar
A foreign security source said TPLF forces took control of Abala on the Tigray-Afar border, while a TPLF source claimed several other Afar towns.
Battle · Unknown place
TPLF forces clashed with government forces in Afar and Amhara, with the federal side calling it an offensive and the Tigray government saying its army had entered a defensive battle.
Battle · Unknown place
The federal army said it killed 272 TPLF fighters as they attacked multiple parts of North Wollo Zone; the figure was not independently verified.
Statement · Unknown place
Federal government adviser Getachew Reda accused the TPLF of attacks in Afar and Amhara and of taking over federally controlled airports.
Battle · Unknown place
Conflict monitor ACLED said Tigrayan forces, working with Fano, attacked federal positions in the Amhara region.
Shelling · Lalibela town, North Wello, Amhara
Two residents said federal forces fired heavy weapons from a camp in Lalibela at Fano forces advancing about 50 km away.
Statement · Unknown place
Afar's regional government accused the TPLF of invading and said Afar forces would defend themselves with allies.
Battle · Unknown place
Four sources confirmed fighting in Tigray, Afar and Amhara as Tigrayan forces launched an offensive against federal forces.
Battle · Unknown place
Government and diplomatic sources said Tigrayan forces were fighting alongside Fano in Amhara.
Battle · Unknown place
Security sources said Tigrayan forces and the Amhara Fano National Movement had been fighting federal forces together in Amhara since Wednesday.
Statement · Unknown place
Ethiopia's president told the UN General Assembly that external actors were behind renewed fighting in Tigray and that Ethiopia had shown restraint.
Battle · Unknown place
Tigrayan forces fought government positions in Afar alongside a local armed group, Reuters sources said.
Battle · Unknown place
The TPLF launched an offensive on the Tigray-Afar boundary against the government-backed Tigray Peace Forces, with an Afar anti-government group fighting alongside it.
Battle · Unknown place
Tigrayan forces and Fano launched a ground assault on federal forces in Amhara near the Southern Tigray boundary, with heavy fighting in North Wollo and reported threats to Weldiya and Lalibela.
Shelling · Kobo town, North Wello, Amhara
A mortar strike in Kobo town, reportedly by the ENDF, killed civilians, according to the UN human rights office.
Battle · Unknown place
Tigray's communication bureau said federal forces launched attacks on Tigrayan positions from southern Tigray and the Afar border and that Tigray forces were compelled to defend themselves; unverified.
Control change · Axum town, Central, Tigray
The African Union Commission chairperson expressed concern over the reported seizure and control of Mekelle, Axum and Shire airports by Tigray forces and urged an immediate de-escalation.
Control change · Erebti, Kilbati /Zone 2, Afar
A former senior TPLF official told AFP that Tigray forces had taken Berhale, Erebti, Abala, Megale, Dalul and Konoba and that federal forces were retreating; the claim was not verified.
Battle · Unknown place
A federal adviser said TPLF forces launched attacks on government forces in Afar and Amhara regions, while Tigray's president's office accused federal forces of opening war.
Battle · Unknown place
Fighting broke out in Amhara and Afar, with Tigrayan forces reported fighting alongside Fano and a local Afar armed group against federal forces.
Control change · Unknown place
TPLF forces allied with the ANURF advanced into several districts of Afar Zone 2 with little resistance, according to the author.
Battle · Unknown place
Local media reported clashes between federal forces and TPLF-affiliated fighters in parts of Tigray, Amhara and Afar.
Statement · Unknown place
The TPLF-led Tigray government said federal forces attacked from several directions and that its forces had been ordered into a defensive war.
Statement · Unknown place
A federal adviser accused Tigrayan forces of an all-out offensive, while Tigrayan authorities said their forces were responding defensively to federal attacks.
Battle · Korem town, Area 3, Contested
MSF said hospitals in Korem and Alamata received 180 wounded on 23 September and over 420 within 48 hours amid fighting between the ENDF and the TPLF-led coalition.
Battle · Abaala town, Kilbati /Zone 2, Afar
An NGO source, a humanitarian source and a security source reported clashes between TPLF and federal forces in Abala since the previous night.
Battle · Unknown place
Tigrayan forces clashed with federal troops in multiple locations at the start of a major offensive.
Battle · Unknown place
Fano forces said they besieged and captured two colonels commanding an army division, and seized trucks and weapons, after a battle in North Wollo.
Battle · Unknown place
Afar regional officials said Ethiopia's federal army and Tigray's TPLF forces clashed in areas along the Tigray, Amhara and Afar regional borders in late September 2026, and alleged Eritrean soldiers also took part.
Statement · Unknown place
The TPLF's vice president described the renewed fighting as "the beginning of the war," signaling the group's intent to continue the offensive against federal forces.
Control change · Axum town, Central, Tigray
Tigrayan forces took control of the airports in Mekelle, Shire and Axum and detained the small number of federal police officers guarding them as fighting resumed in northern Ethiopia.
Battle · Unknown place
Fighting resumed between federal forces and Tigray People's Liberation Front forces along the Amhara and Afar border areas two weeks earlier, with accusations that Eritrean forces took part, which Eritrea denied.
Battle · Unknown place
Fighting broke out in areas where Tigray borders the Amhara and Afar regions after the Tigray People's Liberation Front announced it had seized three airports in the Tigray region.