Ethiopian Airlines cancelled flights to Tigray on Thursday, and residents of the northern region rushed to try to withdraw cash from banks after clashes between regional and national forces raised fears of renewed conflict.
Ethiopia’s national army fought fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front for two years until late 2022 in a conflict that researchers say killed hundreds of thousands through direct violence, the collapse of healthcare and famine.
Clashes broke out in disputed western Tigray earlier this week, according to diplomatic and government sources.
“As of today, all flights have been cancelled,” the official for Ethiopia’s national carrier told Reuters, without giving a reason.
One resident of Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, said hundreds of people began queuing to withdraw money on Thursday, but many banks had run out of cash.
“I went to three Commercial Bank of Ethiopia branches to withdraw some money but I was told they had no cash…. I have checked all ATMs in the town to withdraw cash, but all of them were empty,” he said.
Another Mekelle resident, a 26-year-old man, told Reuters he had unsuccessfully tried to send a package by air to his sister in the capital Addis Ababa.
“I was told that flights have been cancelled starting from this morning. There is also shortage of cash,” he said, adding he had tried to withdraw money from a cash machine but that most were not working.
The Tigray war ended with a peace pact in November 2022, but disagreements have continued over a range of issues, including contested territories in western Tigray and the delayed disarmament of Tigrayan forces.
A diplomatic source told Reuters that short-lived clashes erupted this week in western Tigray between national forces and Tigrayan forces.
A senior Tigrayan official said the regional government had reached out to Addis Ababa to seek an explanation for the flight cancellations but had received no response.
Senior officials from the Ethiopian and Tigrayan governments told Reuters they hoped for a de-escalation of tensions.
Western Tigray is claimed by both Amhara and Tigray as part of their region although it is now controlled by Amhara forces and the Ethiopian military.
