Ethiopian Airlines cancelled all flights to the cities of Mekelle, Axum, and Shire on Tuesday after the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) took control of the Alula Aba Nega Airport. The seizure of the airfield in the capital of the Tigray region halted all commercial air travel and gives the TPLF control over the primary air link to the rest of the country, security and local sources told AFP.

The takeover follows a pact formed two days ago by 7 armed groups, including the TPLF, Amhara Fano, and the Oromo Liberation Army, to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed from power. The loss of the airport signals the effective collapse of the Pretoria framework, the peace agreement intended to end the conflict in the region.