UK Advises Against All Travel to Ethiopia’s Tigray Region

The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has advised its citizens against all travel to Ethiopia’s Tigray region, citing a rapid deterioration of security following renewed clashes between regional forces and the federal government. The advisory was issued on 31 January 2026. 

The advisory comes amid renewed hostilities in Western Tigray, particularly around the town of Tsemlet, a contested area claimed by forces aligned with the neighbouring Amhara region. Clashes between Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)-aligned fighters and Ethiopia’s federal army have raised fears of a return to the kind of widespread conflict that devastated the region in 2020–2022.

Local media reported drone strikes in central Tigray that killed a truck driver. The fighting has drawn concern from the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, as well as leaders of the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU), all of whom have called on the parties to exercise restraint and avoid escalation.

Security Situation and Isolated Air Service

Compounding security and travel risk, Ethiopian Airlines, the nation’s flag carrier, has suspended flights to and from Tigray, effectively cutting off civilian air access to the region. This suspension, which began in late January 2026, leaves the region largely isolated and underscores the challenges of travel or evacuation should the situation further deteriorate.

The suspension of flights and rising armed tension follow a fragile peace that was established in 2023 after two years of civil war between the federal government and the TPLF, a conflict that the African Union estimates claimed at least 600,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands more.