Ethiopian army seizes Mekelle as TPLF rebels withdraw from Tigray capital
Federal troops and allied militias have secured Mekelle after Tigray People's Liberation Front forces retreated, restoring telecommunications to the city of 500,000 and pushing further north toward Adigrat.
Fall of the regional capital
Ethiopian federal troops and the allied Tigray Peace Force entered Mekelle on Saturday, establishing control over the regional capital following the withdrawal of Tigray People's Liberation Front forces. Federal units advanced into the city from the south aboard transport trucks after securing the local airport. The TPLF announced through a Facebook statement that its administration and combatants had relocated outside the city without armed resistance to prevent civilian casualties and reorganize their ranks. Pro-government forces took up tactical positions at key administrative installations across Mekelle, including the regional presidency headquarters, police stations, the local university, and the Tigray Martyrs Memorial Monument. In a repeating broadcast from the captured Radio FM Mekele headquarters, the Tigray Peace Force called on the local population to remain calm and avoid acts of retribution against former TPLF supporters.
Civilian conditions in Mekelle
Normal commercial activity in Mekelle remained halted on Sunday, with retail shops shuttered and primary avenues occupied by patrolling federal soldiers and militia units. Pro-government authorities restored mobile phone, internet, and electronic payment networks for the city's estimated 500,000 residents after communications were severed on 23 September. While local civilians interacted with Tigray Peace Force members on main avenues, residents largely avoided Ethiopian federal soldiers stationed at strategic monuments and campus gates. Residents expressed mixed reactions regarding the rapid change in military control and the risk of broader regional conflict.
The fact that the war is beginning to wind down quickly brings relief.
Concerns persist among locals that the confrontation could widen beyond Ethiopia's borders.
On the other hand, as it is seems to be becoming regionalised, I fear it could drag on.
- The Pretoria agreement ends two years of civil war between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF.
- Hostilities resume across Tigray, Afar, and Amhara, cutting communications to Mekelle.
- Pro-government forces advance into Mekelle as TPLF fighters withdraw from the city.
- Federal forces secure Mekelle, restore phone networks, and advance toward Adigrat as regional leaders meet in Egypt.
Shifting alliances and northern push
The recent escalation reignited hostilities nearly four years after the 2022 Pretoria agreement, brokered by the African Union, ended two years of civil war. Both the Ethiopian government and the TPLF had accused each other of violating the terms of the Pretoria accord during months of tension marked by federal drone strikes. In mid-September, the TPLF formed a military coalition with six other armed opposition factions aimed at removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed from office. Eritrea, which fought alongside federal Ethiopian troops during the 2020–2022 war, has now shifted its support to the TPLF and its allied insurgent factions. Following the capture of Mekelle, federal troops and the Tigray Peace Force pushed further north on Sunday toward Adigrat, moving closer to the Eritrean frontier. The renewed conflict, which erupted on 23 September across Tigray, Afar, and Amhara, caused hundreds of injuries in its opening days, according to Médecins Sans Frontières, while the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned of acute humanitarian distress among displaced populations.
Diplomatic talks in Egypt
The rapid movement of troops toward northern borders prompted urgent diplomatic discussions among regional governments in the Horn of Africa. Leaders from Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, and Eritrea convened on Sunday in the coastal city of Alamein to address the cross-border implications of the Ethiopian conflict. In a joint declaration issued after the summit, the four participating nations urged peaceful resolutions, calling for strict respect for state sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity alongside non-interference in internal affairs. The United States Department of State also called on all parties to exercise restraint and pursue direct dialogue to avert further destabilization across northern Ethiopia.
