Government-allied fighters entered Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, a witness said, after the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) announced its withdrawal.
The TPLF, which last month seized the Mekelle airport and the city said in a statement on Saturday that it had pulled out following renewed fighting.
They had done so in the previous two-year civil war, which ended with a 2022 peace agreement, apparently to prevent the city being destroyed.
The TPLF statement added the regional government would be “temporarily moved out of Mekelle and operate from somewhere else”.
Ethiopian Airlines had suspended flights to Mekelle, as well as the Tigrayan cities of Axum and Shire, after the rebels seized its airport.
A source close to the pro-government militia, the Tigray Peace Forces, said its fighters entered the centre of the city on Saturday afternoon, followed by the Ethiopian military.
The African Union has urged restraint amid heightened tensions, warning that the fighting could derail the 2022 agreement.
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A source close to the pro-government militia, the Tigray Peace Forces, said its fighters entered the centre of the city on Saturday afternoon, followed by the Ethiopian military.
A humanitarian source and Mekelle resident, who asked not to be named, confirmed the city is now under control of government forces.
Image: Drone strike in Mekelle, Ethiopia, on 27 September. Pic: Reuters
Tanks cheered on as ‘pro-govt forces capture key Ethiopian town’
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has failed to quieten tensions with Tigray’s rebellious leaders in recent months, with TPLF chairman Debretsion Gebremichael openly challenging him.
Mr Debretsion said on Thursday that the fighting was a “continuation of the previous war” and that his troops would keep attacking and defending Tigray.
The Tigray Peace Force is fighting alongside federal troops against the TPLF.
In Mekelle, civilians looted government offices and stole equipment from police headquarters as TPLF-allied fighters withdrew, a local business owner said on Sunday.
The looting targeted the TPLF administration office, the regional police headquarters, and some shops, Filmon Equar Hailu said.
Departures started in small groups around three days ago and continued through Saturday afternoon, he added.
The TPLF is one of seven opposition groups that declared an alliance late last month to remove Mr Abiy, who came to power in 2018, and was re-elected earlier this year.
The conflict is also testing regional alliances, with Ethiopia saying the TPLF is likely being supported by Eritrea and Egypt.
Ethiopia on Thursday closed its embassy in Eritrea and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave Addis Ababa, the federal capital, 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 its neighbour.
Egypt denies supporting the TPLF, and Eritrea says Abiy is trying to externalise an internal conflict.
Conflict in Ethiopia resurges: What does it mean for East Africa?
The fighting has sparked fears that it could fan out into a wider regional conflict, potentially drawing in neighbouring countries in the Horn of Africa and the Gulf.
Key events in the 2020-2022 civil war
4 November 2020 – Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sends troops into Tigray, accusing the region’s ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), of attacking military bases in the region.
The TPLF, which dominated national politics until Mr Abiy took office in 2018, says it seized military equipment and took prisoners because Mr Abiy was preparing to send troops into the region after a vote held in defiance of the federal government.
9 November 2020 – Ethnic killings take place in the town of Mai Kadra, with hundreds slaughtered. Ethnic Tigray and Amhara civilians trade blame, and tens of thousands of Tigrayans leave western Tigray for Sudan.
14 November 2020 – The TPLF fires rockets at two airports in the neighbouring Amhara region and Eritrea’s capital Asmara, accusing Eritrea of sending troops into Tigray.
28 November 2020 – Mr Abiy says operations in Tigray have finished and soldiers control the regional capital, Mekelle.
28 to 29 November 2020 – Eritrean soldiers kill hundreds of people in the town of Axum.
February to March 2021 – Tigrayan civilians edge deeper into Tigray from the west.
23 March 2021 – Mr Abiy confirms Eritrean troops entered Tigray, after months of denials from both countries.
29 June 2021 – Forces loyal to the TPLF take control of Mekelle after months of fighting. Ethiopian and Eritrean troops withdraw from most of Tigray, except the west.
13 July 2021 – Tigray forces move south and west into land claimed by Amhara.
19 July 2021 – Tigray forces attack the Afar region.
11 October 2021 – Ethiopia mounts a ground offensive to push Tigray forces out of Amhara and Afar and then launches air strikes in Tigray.
2 November 2021 – Ethiopia declares a six-month state of emergency after Tigray forces gain territory.
December 2021 – Ethiopia’s military retakes the town of Lalibela from Tigray forces, the first of a series of gains.
24 March 2022 – Ethiopia’s government declares a unilateral truce to allow aid into Tigray.
24 August 2022 – Fighting between Tigray and government forces around the town of Kobo, disrupts a ceasefire.
20 September 2022 – Tigray forces say troops from Eritrea launched a “full-scale offensive” in the region.
5 October 2022 – More than 50 people are killed in an air strike on a school sheltering displaced people.
5 October 2022 – Ethiopia’s government and forces from Tigray accept an invitation from the African Union for talks in South Africa.
17 October 2022 – The Ethiopian army captures Shire, a key town in northern Tigray.
25 October 2022 – The first formal peace talks begin in Pretoria, South Africa.
2 November 2022 – The government and Tigray forces agree to end hostilities.
In Washington, state department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the US strongly urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to “exercise maximum restraint and return to dialogue and cooperation as agreed in their 2018 peace framework”.
