TPLF withdraws from Mekelle as Ethiopian federal forces move back in
Leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in northern Ethiopia have said they have withdrawn from the regional capital Mekelle, opening the way for federal troops and their allies to enter after renewed fighting. The development comes weeks after TPLF fighters seized Mekelle airport and the city, one of Ethiopia's largest, raising concerns over a fresh escalation in a region still recovering from war.
The African Union had urged restraint after the latest fighting, warning that rising tensions threatened the 2022 peace agreement that ended the previous two-year conflict. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has in recent months tried and failed to subdue Tigray's rebellious leaders, with TPLF chairman Debretsion Gebremichael stating on Thursday that the fighting was a "continuation of the previous war" and that his fighters would keep attacking and defending Tigray from its enemies.
In a statement on Saturday, the TPLF said it had pulled out of Mekelle. It had also withdrawn from the city during the earlier war, apparently to spare it from destruction. TPLF fighters had taken control of the airport on September 23, prompting Ethiopian Airlines to suspend flights to Mekelle and the Tigrayan cities of Axum and Shire.
Information from Tigray has been difficult to gather and verify because of severe disruption to internet and mobile phone networks, although some connectivity was reported on Sunday. Residents of Mekelle told The Associated Press on Saturday that federal forces had retaken the airport, though details remained limited.
Residents also reported looting as TPLF-allied fighters left the city. Filmon Equar Hailu, a local businessman who said he witnessed the departures and looting, told AP by phone from Mekelle that civilians looted government offices and took away equipment from police headquarters. He said the looting targeted the TPLF administration office, the regional police headquarters and some shops.
Filmon said he saw some TPLF-allied fighters carrying light weapons leaving the city, some of them on foot. According to him, the departures began in small groups around three days earlier and continued through Saturday afternoon. He also said small groups of fighters from the Tigray Peace Force entered Mekelle and that he heard celebratory gunfire overnight into Sunday morning.
According to Jalale Getachew Birru, an Ethiopia analyst for ACLED, an independent global monitor that collects, analyses and maps conflict data, Abiy is very likely to leave regional security in the hands of the Tigray Peace Force after federal troops take control of Mekelle. The Tigray Peace Force is made up of former members of the Tigray Defence Forces and is fighting alongside federal troops against the TPLF.
The TPLF is one of seven opposition groups that announced an alliance late last month with the aim of removing Abiy, who came to power in 2018 and was re-elected earlier this year. The TPLF was once Tigray's ruling party and had also been the dominant group in the coalition that governed Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018.
The renewed fighting has added to the hardship faced by civilians who are still recovering from the last war. Residents have spoken of fears of renewed isolation after flights were suspended, and they have also reported that roads linking Tigray and Afar were closed to civilian traffic.
The conflict is also straining regional ties. Ethiopia has said the TPLF is likely receiving support from Eritrea and Egypt. Relations between Ethiopia and Egypt have been tense in recent years because of a large power dam on the Nile River, which Cairo opposes over concerns about reduced water supplies. Abiy has also angered Eritrea with his stated wish for Ethiopia to gain sovereign access to the Eritrean Red Sea port of Assab.
On Thursday, Ethiopia shut its embassy in Eritrea and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave Addis Ababa, citing their alleged "involvement in activities that pose a direct threat to Ethiopia's national security". Eritrea responded by saying it was cutting diplomatic ties with Ethiopia. Egypt has denied supporting the TPLF, while Eritrea has said Abiy is trying to externalise an internal conflict.
Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki travelled to Egypt on a working visit at the invitation of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel said on Saturday. Afwerki and el-Sissi would "discuss further enhancement of bilateral ties during the visit", Yemane said on X. The withdrawal from Mekelle, reports from residents and the regional diplomatic fallout together underline how the renewed fighting in Tigray is affecting both the conflict zone and the wider region.
