Ethiopian Forces Retake Tigray Capital Mekelle
Federal troops and allied fighters control Mekelle after the TPLF withdrew, restoring the airport and city institutions without a battle.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopian federal troops and allied fighters were in control of Mekelle, the capital of the northern Tigray region, on Sunday, Oct. 4, after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) pulled its forces out of the city, Al Jazeera and AFP reported.
The TPLF said in a statement late on Saturday that it had “temporarily moved out of Mekelle” and that the regional administration would “operate from somewhere else.”
A source close to the pro-government Tigray Peace Force told Reuters that its fighters reached the city center on Saturday afternoon, with the Ethiopian military following behind them.
Airport and city change hands
Residents told the Associated Press that federal forces had retaken Mekelle’s Alula Aba Nega Airport on Saturday. That reverses the TPLF’s capture of the airport on Sept. 23, which led Ethiopian Airlines to suspend flights to Mekelle, Axum and Shire.
Troops entered the city without a fight as TPLF forces left, Africanews reported, citing AFP. By Sunday, federal soldiers were patrolling and guarding key institutions, and communications were restored for the first time in more than a week.
“We have taken control of Mekelle and we are marching forward,” a commander of a pro-government militia told AFP.
Daily life was far from normal. Shops remained shut, and one resident said, “There are no police,” adding that neighbors had organized their own security.
Signals of a guerrilla phase
TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael said the group’s strategy was to strike the enemy wherever it chooses, AFP reported, a statement read as a signal that the TPLF may shift to guerrilla tactics.
There is precedent. Federal forces took Mekelle in November 2020, and the TPLF recaptured it the following year. An analyst told the AP that this round is different because of the Tigray Peace Force, a breakaway faction now fighting alongside federal troops against its former comrades.
The 2020–22 war killed more than 600,000 people, according to the African Union. The Pretoria peace agreement that ended it was never fully carried out. Fighting resumed on Sept. 23 after seven armed and political groups formed an alliance with the stated aim of removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Regional rivals meet in Egypt
As Mekelle changed hands, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi hosted Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan at El-Alamein. Their joint statement called for peaceful settlement of disputes and non-interference in other states’ affairs, and opposed unilateral measures that harm downstream countries, a reference to Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile.
Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of backing the Tigrayan rebels with support from Sudan and Egypt. All three governments deny it. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Cairo had “absolutely nothing to do” with events in Ethiopia.
The U.S. State Department on Saturday urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to respect each other’s sovereignty, exercise maximum restraint and pursue dialogue.
What it means: Taking Mekelle without a battle gives Addis Ababa a symbolic and logistical win, including control of the region’s main airport. But the TPLF withdrew rather than lost its forces, and its leaders are signaling a longer insurgency. With Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia coordinating publicly and Ethiopia alleging outside support for the rebels, the conflict carries a clear risk of drawing in neighbors.
Sources
- The Boston Report: Tigray Capital Mekelle Retaken
- Al Jazeera: Ethiopia’s forces retake Mekelle amid renewed Tigray fighting
- Al Jazeera: Government forces seize Tigray capital as TPLF withdraws
