# Frontlines.et

> A neutral, open tracker of Ethiopia's armed conflicts: who controls each of Ethiopia's ~1,000 districts (woredas), and every reported strike, battle, change of control and official statement, each with its sources and a confidence grade. English, Amharic and Afaan Oromo. Data back to 1989 (UCDP), live since September 2026, updated every 15 minutes.

How to read the data:
- Control changes only on independently verified reports (grade A or B). A party's own claim is shown, labelled as a claim (grade C), and never moves the map.
- Grades: A = several independent sources or visual evidence; B = one credible independent source; C = a party's own claim; D = unclear.
- Casualty figures are as reported, at the low end of any range; they are not verified counts.
- The map page draws from the JSON files below with JavaScript; this file and /llms-full.txt carry the same data as text.

## Read this first
- [Full brief: today's situation, the last 30 days of reports and changes of control](https://frontlines.et/llms-full.txt)
- [Methodology: sources, grades, how control is decided](https://frontlines.et/en/methodology/)

## Pages (static HTML, no JavaScript needed)
- [Today: everything reported on the latest day](https://frontlines.et/en/today/); any day: /en/day/{YYYY-MM-DD}/; [every day of the war](https://frontlines.et/en/days/)
- [About: who runs it, editorial policy, corrections, contact, how to cite](https://frontlines.et/en/about/)
- [Every report as plain pages, 100 each, newest first](https://frontlines.et/en/events/page/1/): /en/events/page/{n}/, with rel=next links; the full record without JavaScript
- [Event feed](https://frontlines.et/en/events/): the newest reports, with filters as query parameters (?type=drone_strike, ?region=ET01, ?from=2026-10-01, ?status=verified)
- [One event](https://frontlines.et/en/events/5801/): /en/events/{id}/ (summary, place, grade, sources, photos)
- [Drone and air strikes](https://frontlines.et/en/strikes/)
- [Districts and who holds them](https://frontlines.et/en/woredas/); one district: /en/woredas/{pcode}/ (e.g. ET010308, Adigrat)
- [Armed forces](https://frontlines.et/en/actors/); one force: /en/actors/{slug}/ (endf, tdf, fano, ola, edf, ...)
- [What the sides' own channels say (claims, not facts)](https://frontlines.et/en/propaganda/)
- Every page exists in Amharic (/am/…) and Afaan Oromo (/om/…), with summaries translated; the data files carry summary_am and summary_om
- Every event, district and force page carries schema.org JSON-LD (Report, Place, Organization) with its figures

## Data (JSON, open, CORS enabled, refreshed every 15 minutes)
- [https://frontlines.et/data/meta.json](https://frontlines.et/data/meta.json): generation time, data start, counts, attribution
- [https://frontlines.et/data/events-recent.json](https://frontlines.et/data/events-recent.json): recent events. Fields: id, date, type (drone_strike, airstrike, shelling, battle, control_change, attack_on_civilians, ceasefire, statement, development), summary (+ summary_am, summary_om), woreda (pcode), region (ET01 Tigray, ET02 Afar, ET03 Amhara, ET04 Oromia, ...), point [lon, lat], actors (slugs), fatalities and wounded ([low, high]), weapons, grade, status (verified, claimed, disputed), sources (ids into sources.json)
- [https://frontlines.et/data/events.json](https://frontlines.et/data/events.json): every event since 1989 (about 4 MB)
- [https://frontlines.et/data/control.json](https://frontlines.et/data/control.json): per district pcode, the periods of control: start, end (null = still), status (controlled, contested, unknown), actor, grade, sources
- [https://frontlines.et/data/changes.json](https://frontlines.et/data/changes.json): changes of control, with date, woreda, from, to, grade, inferred
- [https://frontlines.et/data/woredas.json](https://frontlines.et/data/woredas.json): districts: pcode, names (en, am, om), zone, region
- [https://frontlines.et/data/actors.json](https://frontlines.et/data/actors.json): armed forces: slug, names, aliases, parent, type
- [https://frontlines.et/data/alliances.json](https://frontlines.et/data/alliances.json): relations between forces over time (allied, hostile, ceasefire)
- [https://frontlines.et/data/sources.json](https://frontlines.et/data/sources.json): every source: outlet, type, url, language
- [https://frontlines.et/data/unverified-reports.json](https://frontlines.et/data/unverified-reports.json): reports not yet independently confirmed (the map's Unverified layer)
- [https://frontlines.et/data/woredas.geojson](https://frontlines.et/data/woredas.geojson): district boundaries (OCHA COD-AB)
- [https://frontlines.et/data/latest.json](https://frontlines.et/data/latest.json): a tiny file that changes whenever new data is published

## Optional
- Map images per region, updated every 15 minutes: https://frontlines.et/snapshots/{tigray|amhara|afar|oromia|ethiopia}-{en|am|om}.png
- Telegram bot with alerts and a question-answering assistant: https://t.me/frontlines_et_bot
- Licence: the event data builds on the UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset (CC BY 4.0); boundaries from OCHA COD-AB. Please cite Frontlines.et and link the page you used.

## Situation on 2026-10-15 (data updated 2026-10-15 21:48 UTC)

Who holds each district (woreda), from independently verified reports only. Control is recorded for 102 of Ethiopia's ~1,000 districts, those the current fighting has reached; the rest have no reported change.

- **Ethiopian National Defense Force**: 60 districts (Tigray 45, Contested 6, Amhara 5, Afar 4)
- **Tigray Defence Forces**: 17 districts (Tigray 17)
- **Amhara regional forces**: 8 districts (Contested 8)
- Contested: 4 districts
- No verified report of who holds it: 13 districts

Since the current war began (2026-09-20): 442 reports, 39 drone and air strikes, 67 changes of control, 1603 people reported killed (lower bounds as reported).

Last 7 days: 140 reports (55 verified, 85 claimed by a party), 6 drone and air strikes, 18 changes of control.

### Latest reports

- 2026-10-15 · statement · place not stated · grade C, claimed: Ethiopian Prime Minister advisors stated that Ethiopian forces need to enter Eritrea to stop the Asmara regime, while the Eritrean Foreign Minister warned that Ethiopia's ambitions to secure Red Sea access and take control of Assab threaten Eritrea's sovereignty. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5864/)
- 2026-10-15 · development · Abobo, Gambela · grade B, verified: Following recent security disturbances and displacement in Gambella and Abobo woreda's Lunga kebele, residents and officials reported that security forces deployed to stabilize the area, while normal activities, businesses, and banks remained disrupted and residents fled certain kebeles. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5863/)
- 2026-10-15 · development · place not stated · grade B, verified: The World Health Organization announced that it has distributed over 71 metric tons of medical supplies and medicines to 49 health facilities across the Tigray, Afar, and Amhara regions. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5862/)
- 2026-10-15 · statement · place not stated · grade C, claimed: Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh briefed the diplomatic community in Asmara on alleged violations of Eritrea's sovereignty by Ethiopia's Prosperity Party and accused Ethiopia of pursuing aggressive policies regarding the Red Sea and Assab. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5860/)
- 2026-10-15 · battle · Kola Tembien, Tigray · grade C, claimed: A Tigray Peace Forces commander stated that the Ethiopian federal army and Tigray Peace Forces engaged in drone-supported fighting against TPLF forces in the Temben areas of Shewate Ahgumu and Abergele. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5855/)
- 2026-10-15 · drone strike · Rama Adi Arbaete, Tigray · grade C, claimed: A Tigray Peace Forces commander stated that the Ethiopian Federal Army and Tigray Peace Forces, backed by drones, clashed with TPLF fighters in Tembien and Abergelle areas, and also reported an Ethiopian Air Force drone strike on Eritrean forces' heavy weaponry in Chew near Rama. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5844/)
- 2026-10-15 · statement · Arada Sub City, Addis Ababa · grade C, claimed: Yoel Yohannes, Head of Diplomatic Mission for Eritrea's Blue Revolution People's Movement, stated in Addis Ababa that Ethiopia's quest for sea access is an opportunity for shared prosperity rather than a threat to Eritrea. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5843/)
- 2026-10-15 · statement · place not stated · grade C, claimed: Ethiopian Navy Commander Vice Admiral Kindu Gezu stated that securing sea access is an existential matter for Ethiopia and that no force can protect Red Sea security interests better than Ethiopia. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5842/)
- 2026-10-15 · development · place not stated · grade A, verified: The Ethiopian National Defence Forces displayed drones and munitions captured from the Tigray Defence Forces, including YIHA-III loitering munitions, a Mohajer-6 UAV, and Qaem/GB-20 bombs. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5840/)
- 2026-10-15 · development · place not stated · grade B, verified: Local officials and farmers told Addis Standard that renewed conflict in Tigray has exacerbated drought conditions, causing agricultural and disaster management bureau operations to halt and hindering drought response efforts. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5839/)
- 2026-10-15 · development · Lalibela town, Amhara · grade B, verified: The International Committee of the Red Cross donated medical supplies to hospitals in Lalibela and Sekota as well as health stations in Kurba and Kulmesk. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5838/)
- 2026-10-15 · development · Hawelti Sub City, Tigray · grade B, verified: UNICEF and the International Committee of the Red Cross, in cooperation with the Ethiopian Red Cross Society, delivered humanitarian and medical supplies to Mekelle for families and health facilities affected by the conflict. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5837/)
- 2026-10-15 · statement · place not stated · grade C, claimed: Eritrea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the African Union to restore Eritrea's representation at its headquarters following the Ethiopian Government's decision to expel Eritrea's Permanent Representative and diplomatic staff. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5836/)
- 2026-10-15 · statement · Hawelti Sub City, Tigray · grade C, claimed: Residents of Mekelle condemned the TPLF for coercive recruitment and conflict, pledging cooperation with federal authorities to ensure lasting peace. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5833/)
- 2026-10-15 · statement · Arada Sub City, Addis Ababa · grade C, claimed: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and government media emphasized that Ethiopia's quest for reliable and peaceful sea access is a vital national imperative and a defining patriotic duty for the current generation. (https://frontlines.et/en/events/5832/)