Ethiopian federal forces have taken control of the Tigray rebels' regional capital, Mekelle. A local journalist reported that federal troops were patrolling the city and manning key institutions on Sunday, after entering the city without a fight on Saturday. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) leaders and troops had abandoned the city. Communications were restored for the first time in more than a week.
The conflict between the TPLF and federal forces began on September 23, sparking fears of a return to the devastating civil war of 2020-2022. The civil war left more than 600,000 dead, according to the African Union. The TPLF ruled all of Ethiopia from 1991 until 2018, when it was marginalised with the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The tensions led to the civil war, which was temporarily ended by the Pretoria peace agreement of 2022.
The presidents of Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, and Eritrea gathered in the Egyptian city of Alamein on Sunday to discuss the conflict. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged "dialogue, not confrontation", as concerns grow that Ethiopia's escalating violence could spill across borders. Eritrea, which shares a long border with the Tigray region, is most directly involved in the conflict.
Eritrea accuses landlocked Ethiopia of planning to invade and seize access to its coastline. Analysts say it has backed the rebels in Ethiopia in a bid to keep the conflict away from its border. The TPLF's leader, Debretsion Gebremichael, implied that the group would continue guerrilla-style attacks as they did when Mekelle fell to government forces in 2020.
A commander with a pro-government militia told AFP that they had taken control of Mekelle and were marching forward. Businesses and shops remained closed, with owners moving stock to safer locations ahead of time, fearing looting and vandalism. One resident reported that there were no police and that they had to organise themselves to take care of security.
The mini-summit in Alamein was set to bring together Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The talks aimed to address the growing concerns about the conflict's potential to spill across borders.
Addressing the African Union's mid-year coordination summit, Sisi said Egypt opposed foreign interference in African states and called for relations to be based on "mutual respect, good neighbourliness, dialogue and consultation". He emphasised that cross-border challenges require cooperation, not competition, and dialogue, not confrontation.
Key points
- Ethiopian federal forces have taken control of the Tigray rebels' regional capital, Mekelle.
- Regional rivals gathered in Egypt to discuss the risk of a wider war.
- The conflict between the TPLF and federal forces began on September 23, sparking fears of a return to the devastating civil war of 2020-2022.
