The FCDO has widened its travel warning for Ethiopia's Afar region. In a change published just after midnight UK time on Thursday 24 September, it says it "now advises against all travel to the parts of Afar region within 10km of the border with Eritrea and within 20km of the Tigray-Afar border". It says its advice for the rest of Ethiopia stands.
That follows a separate update on Wednesday 23 September. The FCDO now states that "All civilian flights to and from Tigray region were suspended on 22 September 2026", and that flights to and from northern Ethiopia "could be suspended or cancelled at short notice".
The driver is renewed fighting in the north. The FCDO reports "renewed clashes between Tigray People's Liberation Front aligned forces and the Ethiopian military in parts of Tigray, including reports of drone strikes, which have increased in frequency since August 2026." It already advises against all travel to Tigray and to all of Amhara.
At the UN on Monday 21 September, the Secretary-General's Spokesman said the UN is "deeply concerned by the worsening security situation and recent developments in Ethiopia, including the formation of a new coalition of armed groups and reports of continued insecurity and drone strikes." He added: "Military action will not resolve political differences or address underlying grievances." The UN supports the African Union-led efforts to advance the Pretoria Agreement.
For teams working in or through Ethiopia, three points follow.
Ground moves in Afar now need checking against a no-go strip along the Tigray boundary as well as the Eritrean border. A route that was inside advice last week may not be today.
Air options in the north are unreliable. With Tigray flights suspended and the FCDO warning that northern flights can be cancelled at short notice, do not build a plan that depends on flying out of the north.
Addis Ababa carries its own risks for mixed teams. The FCDO says the authorities have increased security checks at Bole International Airport "and there are reports of ethnic Tigrayans being prevented from boarding flights", and that travellers "may face increased scrutiny, particularly if they are of Amhara, Tigrayan or Oromo ethnicity". That matters for local staff, drivers and fixers as much as for principals. The FCDO also notes a small number of cases of arbitrary detention of British nationals, and that the Ethiopian authorities do not always notify embassies when they detain foreign nationals.
Press reports have named groups said to have joined the new coalition. The UN statement names none, and we have no primary source for its membership, so we are not listing them.
