Tigray forces seize main airport in northern Ethiopia from police, residents tell the BBC

Local forces in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray have seized control of the airport in the regional capital, Mekelle, from federal police, local residents have told the BBC.

No flights are currently landing at the airport and Ethiopian Airlines said it had suspended flights to Mekelle and the cities of Shire and Axum because of what it called the "current situation" in Tigray.

There have been escalating tensions this year between the government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that runs Tigray, fuelling fears of a return to civil war.

On Sunday, the TPLF announced an alliance with six armed groups in Ethiopia to remove the government in Addis Ababa.

A two-year war in Tigray ended in November 2022 - but both sides are now accusing each other of violating an African Union-mediated peace deal.

It was one of the most-deadly conflicts this century, with the AU's mediator estimating some 600,000 people died as the fighting drove the region to the precipice of famine.

The flight suspension follows a series of reported drone strikes in Tigray.

On Tuesday, a strike in the southern town of Alamata killed at least 14 people and injured 22 others, according to the Tigrayan authorities.