The Tigray People’s Liberation Front said late Saturday that it had temporarily moved out of Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, after Ethiopian Government forces and allied fighters retook Alula Aba Nega Airport and entered the city. In a statement on social media, the group said it had left Mekelle to operate from somewhere else. Al Jazeera, citing Agence France-Presse and Reuters, reported the announcement on Sunday after federal troops and pro-government fighters were seen in control of parts of the city.
A source close to the Tigray Peace Forces told Reuters that those fighters entered Mekelle’s centre on Saturday afternoon, followed by the Ethiopian military. A humanitarian source and a Mekelle resident who asked not to be named confirmed to Reuters that the city was under the control of government forces. Separately, a humanitarian source told Agence France-Presse that staff on the ground said the TPLF had abandoned the regional capital, and that Ethiopian federal forces and allied forces had been observed across various locations in the city.
The Associated Press, in reporting carried by ABC News, said the TPLF pulled out after seizing Mekelle and its airport last month. AP said the TPLF had pulled out of Mekelle in the 2020-2022 war as well, apparently to spare the city from destruction. Filmon Equar Hailu, a local business owner who spoke to the Associated Press by phone from Mekelle, said civilians looted the TPLF administration office, the regional police headquarters and some shops as TPLF fighters withdrew. He said some TPLF fighters with light weapons left on foot in small groups over about three days through Saturday afternoon, and that small groups from the Tigray Peace Forces then entered the city. Filmon said he heard celebratory gunfire overnight into Sunday morning. Some connectivity returned on Sunday after severe disruption to internet and cellphone networks, the Associated Press reported.
France 24, citing Agence France-Presse, reported that federal troops were patrolling Mekelle and manning key institutions on Sunday, according to a local journalist, as communications were restored for the first time in more than a week. A commander of what AFP called a pro-government militia told the agency, “We have taken control of Mekelle and we are marching forward.” Businesses and shops remained closed, with owners moving stock to safer locations for fear of looting, France 24 reported. One resident told the agency there were no police and that people organised their own security overnight.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office has not given its own public account. Jalale Getachew Birru, an Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project analyst cited by the Associated Press, said that after federal troops take control of Mekelle, Abiy Ahmed is very likely to leave regional security in the hands of the Tigray Peace Forces, which include former members of the Tigray Defense Forces now fighting alongside federal troops against the TPLF.
TPLF Chairman Debretsion Gebremichael said on Thursday that the fighting was a continuation of the previous war and that his fighters would keep attacking and defending Tigray. France 24 reported that Debretsion implied guerrilla-style attacks would continue, saying the group operates under a strategy to strike wherever it chooses.
On Saturday the United States urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to respect their neighbors’ sovereignty, show restraint, and return to dialogue. Al Jazeera reported that the State Department said the tensions could affect the whole region. France 24 reported that the presidents of Egypt, Eritrea and Somalia, and the head of Sudan’s armed forces, were due to meet Sunday in Alamein.
Sources: