Ethiopian federal forces entered Mekelle on Oct. 3, then patrolled the Tigray capital and manned key institutions the next day, as leaders from Egypt, Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea met to discuss the risk of a wider war. The advance brought federal forces back to the regional capital, but reports differed over who controlled the city, and details of the airport’s capture remained unclear.
Control of the Capital
A local journalist told AFP that communications had been restored for the first time in more than a week. The Africa Report said federal forces controlled all of Mekelle, while the Associated Press reported that it wasn’t clear who controlled the city itself.
People in Mekelle told the AP that federal forces had taken Alula Aba Nega Airport. An Ethiopian general, speaking anonymously, said, “The military is in full control of the airport. That much I can confirm.” Neither the Ethiopian government nor the Tigray People’s Liberation Front issued an official statement on the airport’s reported capture.
Information from the city remained difficult to verify because internet and cellphone networks had been severely disrupted. People who shared information about the airport declined to be identified, citing fear of retribution amid uncertainty over control. TPLF fighters seized the airport on Sept. 23, prompting Ethiopian Airlines to suspend flights to Mekelle and the Tigrayan cities of Axum and Shire.
A source close to the pro-government Tigray Peace Forces told Reuters that its fighters entered central Mekelle on Saturday afternoon, followed by the Ethiopian military. The Africa Report said federal forces entered without a fight as TPLF leaders and troops abandoned the city. In a Facebook post, the TPLF said it had retreated and that the regional government would be “temporarily moved out of Mekelle and operate from somewhere else.”
Businesses and shops stayed closed. Owners moved stock to safer locations because they feared looting and vandalism. One resident told AFP, “There are no police. Last night, we had to organise ourselves and take care of security.” Business owner Filmon Equar Hailu told the AP that civilians looted government offices and took equipment from police headquarters as rebel fighters withdrew.
War and Regional Pressure
The TPLF and federal forces began fighting again on Sept. 23, according to The Africa Report. The renewed clashes have raised fears of a return to the 2020-2022 civil war. The African Union has urged restraint, warning that renewed tensions threaten the 2022 peace agreement, brokered by African institutions and Washington but never fully implemented.
The previous war left more than 600,000 dead, according to the African Union, and around one million people remain displaced, Africanews reported. Many parts of the peace agreement remain unfulfilled. Rights groups have accused the TPLF of forced recruitment this year as it prepared for renewed conflict. The federal government has launched drone strikes in Tigray and massed troops at the regional border.
Ethiopian authorities have accused the TPLF of allying with Eritrea and Ethiopian armed groups. Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt deny the accusation. Eritrea shares a long border with Tigray and accuses landlocked Ethiopia of planning to invade and seize access to its coastline. Analysts say Eritrea has backed the rebels to keep the conflict away from its border, and warn the fighting could widen into a regional conflict.
Regional Leaders and Local Resistance
The presidents of Egypt, Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea were due to meet on Oct. 4 in Alamein, Egypt, on the sidelines of an African Business Forum. Before the talks, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged “dialogue, not confrontation.” Addressing the African Union’s mid-year coordination summit, he opposed foreign interference in African states and called for “mutual respect, good neighbourliness, dialogue and consultation, far from unilateral policies or narrow interests.”
Sisi said cross-border challenges, including management of natural resources and transboundary rivers under international law, “require cooperation, not competition, and dialogue, not confrontation.” Egypt and Ethiopia have a long-running dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile.
TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael implied this week that the group would continue guerrilla-style attacks. “We operate under a strategy to strike the enemy wherever we choose,” he said. A commander with a pro-government militia told AFP, “We have taken control of Mekelle and we are marching forward.” Residents, meanwhile, reported fear of looting and described organising their own security because police weren’t there.