{"id":837937,"date":"2026-10-18T14:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T18:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/?p=837937"},"modified":"2026-10-18T14:14:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T18:14:35","slug":"tigray-peace-force-says-core-tplf-members-crossed-into-eritrea-and-offers-fighters-a-grace-period-as-tigrayan-forces-claim-gains-near-mekelle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/837937","title":{"rendered":"Tigray Peace Force says core TPLF members crossed into Eritrea and offers fighters a grace period, as Tigrayan forces claim gains near Mekelle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Crates of Chinese-made 155mm high-explosive artillery ammunition that the open-source analyst Rich Tedd says the Ethiopian National Defense Force seized from Tigrayan forces, in an image he posted on Sunday, October 18, 2026. Where and when it was taken could not be verified. (Photo: @AfriMEOSINT via X)<\/em><\/p>\n

The Tigray Peace Force said core members of what it called the "extremist" Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) had crossed into Eritrea and urged remaining fighters to report to rehabilitation centers, DW Amharic reported.<\/p>\n

Col. Solomon Hailemariam, the force's spokesman, said in a statement posted on its social media page on Saturday that the counteroffensive it waged together with the federal army against the TPLF's forces had upset the balance of power "completely." "After disrupting the army, the work of wrapping it up and destroying it should have followed, but it has become necessary to give members who joined the TPLF army, whether deceived or convinced, time to reflect," he said, in remarks translated from Amharic by Mereja.<\/p>\n

"The core members of the extremist group have crossed into Eritrea," Solomon said, adding that the remaining members and leaders "are moving around in Tigray." He called on them to come to the rehabilitation centers that have been prepared and take up the offer. Mereja could not independently verify the claim that TPLF leaders had crossed the border.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, accounts on X reported that the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) were pushing back toward the regional capital. Tinsae Mulatu, whose profile says he covers the Horn of Africa and is from Tigray, wrote on Saturday that "fresh battlefield reports claim" the TDF had retaken Alasa, "reportedly just 20 km from" Mekelle. The Horn African Guy wrote that Tigrayan forces had announced they controlled Alasa, which he described as a small town about 30 kilometers south of Mekelle. Mereja could not independently verify either account.<\/p>\n

An X user posting as Wedi Liban summarized further claims on Sunday: that the TDF had destroyed federal army units in Ahferom, about 149 kilometers from Mekelle, that federal forces had pulled back from Rama to Adwa, that the TDF had captured Hagere Selam and ambushed a federal convoy, and that heavy artillery fire was reported around Shire. Bashir Hashi Yussuf, who describes himself as an independent Somali journalist, wrote that heavy fighting was under way between the federal army and TPLF forces in areas stretching from the town of Abiy Addi in Tembien to the outskirts of Mekelle. None of these claims could be confirmed by Mereja.<\/p>\n

Mereja has asked the Government Communication Service to confirm or deny the Tigray Peace Force's statement and the Tigrayan forces' battlefield claims and will update this story with any response.<\/p>\n

The Horn African Guy also wrote on Sunday that Tigrayan forces had announced that their objective goes beyond Tigray and that they want to "destroy and dismantle" the ruling Prosperity Party, arguing that Tigray and other regions will remain at risk as long as the party remains in power. Mereja could not locate the original statement.<\/p>\n

An X user posting as Joe wrote in Tigrinya on Sunday that a government drone strike near Alasa had hit an unknown number of armed men from the government's own side, known as the TPF. Mereja could not independently verify it.<\/p>\n

Some of the earlier Tigrayan claims have been partly corroborated. The Critical Threats Project, a U.S. research group, said on Friday that data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED) corroborated claims that the TDF retook Abiy Addi and Werkamba on October 14, while claims that it also captured Shewate Higum and Yechila were not corroborated.<\/p>\n

Rich Tedd, the open-source analyst behind the AfriMEOSINT account, posted images on Sunday of what he said were more crates of Chinese-made 155mm high-explosive artillery ammunition, marked DDB01, that the federal army seized from the TDF. He wrote that the ammunition originally belonged to the federal army and had been used with AH-2 howitzers that Tigrayan forces captured during the 2020 to 2022 war. In a separate post, he wrote that an Antonov An-124 heavy cargo aircraft flew from Al Reef air base in Abu Dhabi to Mombasa on Saturday before departing for Ethiopia on Sunday, with Harar Meda air base its "likely destination," and labeled the flight a "suspicious arms transfer." Mereja could not independently verify the flight's cargo or destination.<\/p>\n

Away from the front, former fighters have been signing up to leave the war. Hundreds of ex-combatants lined up at the Tigray Martyrs' Memorial Monument in Mekelle to register for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program, which began taking registrations on Wednesday, October 14, the Associated Press reported. Authorities declined to say how many had signed up.<\/p>\n

"We were called upon by the TPLF to rejoin our former comrades and units, and doing so was even considered mandatory," Filmon Gebreselassie, a 33-year-old day laborer, told the AP. "However, I did not want to return (to war). I decided instead to focus on raising my children." Many young men at the registration office declined interviews, citing fear of retaliation from the TPLF, the agency said, noting that the TPLF had denounced Tigrayans who collaborate with the federal government as "traitors" in an October 14 statement on Facebook.<\/p>\n

The National Rehabilitation Commission had named reception points for fighters in Maichew, Mehoni, Mekelle, Adigrat, Wukro, Adwa, Axum, Abiy Addi and Shire, its deputy commissioner, Brig. Gen. Derbie Mekuriaw, told reporters on October 10, according to the Ethiopian News Agency. He said those accused of crimes would face accountability procedures.<\/p>\n

EASE, a humanitarian group that works on health and human rights, wrote on X on Saturday that it had received "credible reports of conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls in Tigray" since September 23. "Last time, the world took too long to name it," the group wrote.<\/p>\n

Magnus Taylor, deputy Horn of Africa director at the International Crisis Group, has cautioned against reading the loss of towns as the end of the war. "We shouldn't imagine that this conflict is completely over just because the TPLF has lost Mekelle," Taylor said in an interview with the AP on October 14.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/h4>\n