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Federal troops have taken full control of Mekelle, the Tigray rebels’ regional capital, a local journalist said Sunday, as Ethiopia’s rivals met in Egypt to discuss the risk of a wider conflict.
Fighting between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and federal forces resumed Sept. 23, raising fears of a repeat of the devastating 2020-2022 civil war.
Presidents of four nations, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea, all with strained ties to Ethiopia, gathered Sunday in the coastal city of El-Alamein.
The leaders urged that regional disputes be settled through “peaceful means” while stressing respect for international law and “non-interference in the internal affairs of states” in the Horn of Africa, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
Ethiopia blames Eritrea for supporting the rebels in Tigray directly, and says Sudan and Egypt help too.
All three countries deny the claims. In a counteroffensive, its forces pushed deep into TPLF-held territory and entered Mekelle on Saturday without a fight after the group’s leaders and troops abandoned the city.
Federal troops patrolled Mekelle and manned key institutions on Sunday, a local journalist told Agence France-Presse (AFP), as communications returned after a gap of more than 1 week.
“We have taken control of Mekelle and we are marching forward,” a commander with a pro-government militia said in comments to AFP.
Shops and businesses stayed shuttered, with owners having relocated stock to safer places ahead of time over fears of looting and vandalism. “There are no police,” one resident told AFP.
Like others, the resident asked not to be named, citing the uncertain situation. “Last night, we had to organise ourselves and take care of security.”
“The fact that the war is beginning to lower in intensity brings some immediate relief,” said Tewodros, a resident who declined to share his full name.
“But as seems to be spreading across the region, I’m scared it will drag on,” he added.
Fears are mounting that the fighting could cross into Eritrea.
Eritrea shares a lengthy boundary with Tigray and plays the most direct role in the conflict. It says landlocked Ethiopia plans an invasion to gain coastal access. Analysts say it supports the rebels to keep the fighting away from its territory.
The TPLF has long dominated Tigray and pushed out a government-appointed administration earlier this year. It ruled all of Ethiopia from 1991 until 2018, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, an Oromia native, rose to power and sidelined the group.
Tensions fueled a civil war from 2020 to 2022 that left more than 600,000 dead, according to the African Union, ranking among the deadliest recent conflicts worldwide.
African institutions and Washington brokered the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement. The deal never saw full implementation but still helped maintain some calm until last year.
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