Tigray rebels are abandoning their regional capital in northern Ethiopia, local residents said on Saturday, as pro-government forces advanced on the city. It marks a win for the federal government as it seeks to drive back a rebel offensive, which has triggered the worst fighting in the region since the civil war of 2020-2022.
Fighting erupted on 23 September as the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) launched attacks into neighbouring states, raising fears of a return to all-out conflict.
But federal forces and pro-government militias have pushed them back and are heading north towards the regional capital, Mekelle, witnesses told French news agency AFP.
"TPLF militants and leaders are leaving Mekelle," a local journalist said, adding that government offices and police stations had been left without security personnel.
He said that federal forces had not yet been seen inside the city, an opposition stronghold.
"I am concerned that government and public property could be exposed to looting because there are no security forces in the city," one resident told AFP.
Another said: "Lawlessness could spread in the city, and I am also afraid for my life. I want us to quickly return to law and order."
Government counteroffensive
The TPLF has long been the dominant force in Tigray, and kicked out a government-appointed administration earlier this year.
The taking of Mekelle by pro-government forces would be a major setback for an opposition alliance formed last month by TPLF and six other armed movements to fight Ethiopia's federal government.
After launching their offensive last month, the rebels initially made advances in Afar and Amhara states – which border Tigray – with the help of local militias.
But they were pushed back this week, and Ethiopian federal forces and allied fighters have launched a counteroffensive pushing into Tigrayan territory.
On Friday, a pro-government militia said it had recaptured Mekelle's main airport.
"We have taken full control of Mekelle Alula Aba Nega Airport. We are currently clearing the city of Mekelle," the Tigray Peace Forces militia posted on X late on Friday.
The claims could not be independently verified, with journalists prevented from travelling to affected areas and significant communications disruptions.
Meanwhile a humanitarian source told AFP on condition of anonymity that the TPLF had been pushed entirely out of Afar.
Regional tensions
The conflict has triggered a breakdown in Ethiopia's relations with Eritrea and Egypt, who it accuses of supporting the rebels.
Addis Ababa expelled Eritrean and Egyptian diplomats on Thursday, prompting tit-for-tat expulsions in return.
The African Union, which is based in Ethiopia, said it was "following with concern the heightened tensions between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt", urging "maximum restraint".
The TPLF's war with the federal government killed some 600,000 people between 2020 and 2022, according to AU estimates.
The group ruled all of Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018, when they were marginalised with the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who hails from the Oromia region.
The tensions led to a devastating civil war – one of the deadliest in the world in recent times – that ended with an internationally brokered peace agreement in November 2022.
The pact maintained an uneasy calm until last year, but was never fully implemented and did not result in a broader political settlement to address fundamental disputes.
(with newswires)
