Ethiopia's federal forces and their allies entered Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region in the north of the country, on Saturday after forces loyal to the regional authorities vacated most of their positions inside the city, according to accounts from a humanitarian source and residents. It was the latest development in clashes that began on 23 September.
Federal forces deploy inside Mekelle
A humanitarian source said field teams had confirmed seeing Ethiopian federal forces and allied troops at several locations inside Mekelle. They entered after government forces and groups loyal to them managed to repel Tigray People's Liberation Front fighters and advance north towards the regional capital.
Before the forces entered, a journalist said Tigray People's Liberation Front fighters and their commanders were leaving Mekelle, adding that government offices and police stations had been emptied of security personnel. The security vacuum raised fears among city residents of looting or unrest during the transfer of control. One resident told Agence France-Presse: "I am concerned that government and public property could be looted because there are no security forces in the city".
Residents fear chaos and looting
I am also afraid for my life. I want the rule of law and order to return quickly
The clashes revived fears of a renewed civil war in the north of the country, which killed about 600,000 people between 2020 and 2022. At the start of the fighting, front fighters made advances in the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions, with the participation of local armed groups.
Counter-offensive on three fronts
However, they were forced to retreat this week after federal forces launched a counter-offensive inside Tigray from three fronts towards Mekelle, according to the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project. The pro-government "Tigray Peace Force" militia said on Friday that it had "fully taken control of Mekelle Alula Aba Nega Airport", located about 10 kilometres outside the city.
On the same day, a humanitarian source said the Tigray People's Liberation Front had withdrawn completely from the Afar region. The source said the front had pulled out of Afar the previous day, but that the humanitarian situation had not changed significantly, noting that the fighters had carried out looting and destruction during their withdrawal and that obtaining food had become impossible in northern Ethiopia.
The conflict has worsened Ethiopia's relations with Eritrea and Egypt, which Addis Ababa accuses of supporting the rebels. Tigray People's Liberation Front leader Debretsion Gebremichael said in a video recording published on Thursday: "This is a regional war, and its aim is to control the Red Sea".
Eritrea has long feared that Ethiopia, a landlocked country, may seek to invade its territory and secure access to the Red Sea. In the same recording, Gebremichael hinted that the front would continue carrying out guerrilla-style attacks, saying: "We are working according to a strategy that enables us to strike the enemy wherever we choose".
The front had previously used this approach after Mekelle fell to government forces in 2020, during the early stages of the previous war. The insurgency it later launched led to the front regaining control of the city in mid-2021.
