Tigray, Ethiopia - update September 30, 2026

Dear friends,

You may have seen reports of the renewed violence in Tigray, Ethiopia. Families are once again facing fear, displacement, and growing uncertainty about what comes next. Fighting and drone strikes across several areas have disrupted essential services and forced people from their homes. Many students, workers and travelers remain stranded, unable to return to their families or reach safety.
Hospitals are also coming under increasing pressure as weapon-wounded patients arrive in need of urgent care. For communities already affected by years of conflict and hardship, this latest escalation is placing even greater strain on access to health care, essential services, and basic protection.
As needs grow, humanitarian support is critical to help people affected by the violence access urgent medical care, reconnect with loved ones and meet their most immediate needs.
As of today, the ICRC’s immediate priorities in Tigray include, supporting essential services, strengthening healthcare, acting as a neutral intermediary to facilitate the safe movement of stranded individuals, and monitoring potential violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and providing food and cash assistance.
So far, we have:
• Delivered prepositioned weapon-wounded kits and essential medical supplies to hospitals, including Ayder Hospital in Mekelle, helping medical teams provide urgent, life-saving care to critically injured patients.
• Helped keep Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) ambulances moving despite fuel shortages, so wounded people could reach life-saving medical care.
• Prepositioned emergency household supplies for 6,000 families, helping displaced people meet their most urgent needs.
• Supported 559 health workers with food and cash assistance, helping them remain on the front line and continue caring for patients.
• Helping keep two ERCS community kitchens running, providing meals to people affected by the fighting.
• As a neutral intermediary, helping 164 stranded people move safely and reconnect with places of safety.
The ICRC will continue to monitor the situation closely and coordinate with the Ethiopian Red Cross Society, and other partners to ensure that the response remains needs-based, coordinated, and responsive to the evolving humanitarian situation.

Your support makes a meaningful difference. By championing this cause within your organization and amplifying its impact through peer-to-peer giving on Benevity, you help the ICRC protect and assist people affected by violence in Ethiopia, reconnect families separated by conflict, and support communities striving to recover their livelihoods and dignity.