Federal Forces Retake Mekelle as Tigray Fighters Withdraw Amid Renewed Ethiopian Conflict

Federal troops and allied fighters seen in control of the city after capturing main regional airport.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which leads an armed opposition alliance in Ethiopia, announced it has withdrawn from Mekelle, the capital of the northern Tigray region, following an advance by federal government forces and their allies.

In a social media statement late Saturday, the TPLF said it had “temporarily moved out of Mekelle” to “operate from somewhere else.”

The announcement came hours after Ethiopia’s federal army and pro-government fighters recaptured Mekelle’s main airport. A source close to the Tigray Peace Forces, a pro-government militia, told Reuters its fighters entered Mekelle’s center on Saturday afternoon, followed by the Ethiopian military.

A humanitarian source and a Mekelle resident who requested anonymity confirmed Sunday that the city was under government control, according to Reuters.

Separately, a humanitarian source informed Agence France-Presse that staff on the ground reported the TPLF had abandoned the regional capital. “Ethiopian federal forces and allied forces have reportedly been observed in Mekelle city … across various locations,” the source said.

Hostilities erupted on September 23 after seven armed and political groups formed an alliance aimed at removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and establishing an inclusive transitional administration.

The renewed fighting follows the collapse of a 2022 peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year war between the federal government and Tigrayan forces.

The latest escalation has raised fears of a wider regional conflict. Ethiopia has accused Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt of backing the opposition coalition.

Khartoum and Cairo have denied involvement. Eritrea, which fought alongside Ethiopia’s federal army during the 2020-2022 war, has severed diplomatic ties with Addis Ababa over the accusations.

On Saturday, the United States urged Ethiopia and Eritrea “to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their neighbors, exercise maximum restraint and return to dialogue and cooperation.” The U.S. State Department warned that rising tensions “have the potential to affect the entire region.”

The TPLF originated as an armed movement against Ethiopia’s military government in the 1970s and later became the dominant force in a coalition that ruled the country for nearly three decades until Abiy took office in 2018.

Relations between Abiy’s government and the TPLF deteriorated until war broke out in November 2020. The conflict killed hundreds of thousands, displaced millions, and largely isolated Tigray from the outside world.

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