Ethiopian federal forces have taken full control of Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region, as fighting reignited between the military and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on September 23. Local reports indicate that TPLF leaders fled the city, allowing government troops to enter without resistance.
Amid rising tensions, leaders from Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, and Eritrea held a mini-summit on Sunday in El-Alamein, Egypt, to address concerns over a potential escalation of conflict. They emphasised the importance of resolving regional disputes peacefully and respecting international law.
Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of supporting the Tigray rebels, a claim that both Eritrea and Sudan deny. As of now, federal troops are patrolling Mekelle and overseeing key institutions, with communications restored after a week of outages. Shops remain closed as business owners seek to safeguard their stock amid fears of looting.
Residents express relief as the intensity of fighting decreases, yet many remain fearful of the conflict’s spread beyond Ethiopia’s borders into Eritrea. The military leader of the TPLF, Debretsion Gebremichael, has indicated that guerrilla attacks may continue, drawing from tactics used in the previous war.
Following the summit, a joint statement rejected any unilateral actions that could negatively affect countries downstream regarding shared water resources, amid ongoing tensions surrounding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. This dispute has persisted for over a decade, with Egypt and Sudan seeking legally binding agreements to protect their water security.
The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics until 2018 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, from Oromia, rose to power, triggering a civil war that lasted from 2020 to 2022 and resulted in over 600,000 deaths, according to the African Union. Although a peace agreement was brokered in 2022, it was not fully realised, leading to a resurgence of violence.
