Ethiopia's federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) accused each other this week of launching fresh military offensives across the country's north, as fears mount of a full return to a war that devastated the region from 2020 to 2022.

Tigrayan fighters seized three airports from federal police overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, including Alula Aba Nega Airport in the regional capital Mekelle, along with facilities at Axum and Shire. Ethiopian Airlines suspended all flights to the three airports with no restart date announced, according to a report on the offensive. Getachew Reda, an adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, said the TPLF had "launched an all-out offensive" against government positions in the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions. Tigrayan authorities countered that their forces were fighting "a defensive battle after bombardment by federal aircraft."

The escalation follows a deadly airstrike days earlier. On Tuesday, Ethiopian forces carried out more than 21 strikes using drones and at least one fighter jet, two of which hit schools in the town of Alamata, killing at least 14 civilians and injuring 22 more, according to Tigrayan authorities; the federal government has not responded to the claim, and the toll has not been independently verified. The U.S. State Department separately condemned a drone strike on a Catholic Relief Services aid convoy in the region.

The renewed fighting comes just days after the TPLF announced a coalition with six other armed and political factions — including the Amhara Fano National Movement and the Oromo Liberation Front — pledging to remove Abiy Ahmed's government. It also follows months of strain over the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement, which formally ended the previous war but left disputed territory, disarmament commitments and a promised interim administration in Tigray largely unresolved.

A war nobody wants to repeat

The 2020-2022 conflict between Addis Ababa and Tigrayan forces is widely regarded as one of the deadliest wars of the 21st century, with independent researchers' death-toll estimates — accounting for combat, starvation and lack of medical care — ranging from roughly 100,000 to as high as 600,000 depending on methodology.

"Rejecting dialogue sponsored by the African Union under President Olusegun Obasanjo and engaging in an unwinnable fight does nothing for the people," U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin J. Massinga said, warning of possible additional sanctions against leaders who press the conflict, according to a report on the U.S. response.

The airport seizures grounded regional air travel just as humanitarian groups were warning of worsening conditions in the north. Some stabilizing factors remain: no state of emergency has been declared, the critical Djibouti trade corridor that carries the vast majority of Ethiopia's seaborne cargo remains unaffected, and international mediators — including the African Union — are still pushing for talks rather than further offensives.

Neither Addis Ababa nor Tigrayan leadership had signaled a willingness to stand down as of Thursday, and analysts warn the airport seizures — which cut off Mekelle's main link to the outside world — make de-escalation harder by the hour. Flights remain suspended and both sides continued to trade blame, with Washington's warning of possible new sanctions adding fresh pressure on the TPLF to return to the negotiating table.