Initially, in the first weeks of the war, the federal army had managed to control most of the province. But its sudden withdrawal in June, officially for tactical and humanitarian reasons, changed the situation on the ground. The Tigrayans regained control of their capital and much of the province, and launched an offensive beyond their territory.

On a map of Ethiopia, the current front line extends beyond Tigray's borders.

First to the east, in the Afar region, where the Tigrayan rebellion advanced in July for several dozens of kilometers, toward the strategic road through which Ethiopia supplies itself with oil from Djibouti, before finally being pushed back in August. Today, it claims there is no more fighting in Afar following a "strategic withdrawal", according to its spokesman Getachew Reda.

Most of the fighting now takes place in Amhara, south of Tigray, in several valleys. Over the weeks, the Tigrayans have seized important strategic or symbolic points there, such as the religious site of Lalibela, on August 5. But the belligerents are clashing especially hard along two roads: one leading south to the city of Kombolcha, the other west toward Lake Tana, where the Tigrayans have lost in recent weeks the most advanced localities they controlled.

As for the western front, toward Sudan, it remains calm. Militias and Amhara regional forces hold this quarter of Tigray, and notably the city of Humera. But this front could reopen soon: several sources there report a return to fighting by the Eritrean army.