Residents say TPLF fighters are leaving Mekelle as federal forces retake the city's airport
The airport, seized by the TPLF on 23 September, lies about 10km from the centre of Mekelle. Neither the federal government nor the TPLF has issued a statement.
Federal forces and allied Tigray Peace Force fighters are in control of Mekelle, AFP and Al Jazeera report, after the TPLF confirmed it had withdrawn and said the regional administration would operate from elsewhere. A pro-government militia commander told AFP: “We have taken control of Mekelle and we are marching forward.” TPLF chairman Debretsion Gebremichael said the front would strike the enemy wherever it chose. Residents said shops stayed shut and people were organising their own security.
AFP reported on Monday that the TPLF leader, Debretsion Gebremichael, said his forces "operate under a strategy to strike the enemy wherever we choose", which AFP said pointed to a return to guerrilla-style attacks after the loss of Mekelle. AFP said federal troops were patrolling the city and staffing key institutions on Sunday, and that telephone and internet links were restored after a week-long blackout. AFP did not say when or where Debretsion made the remark.
Ethiopia Observer reported on Sunday that the TPLF said its withdrawal from Mekelle was a strategic decision rather than an end to its resistance, and that its leadership would continue co-ordinating the struggle from elsewhere. It said the TPLF cited the safety of civilians in the capital, and that telephone and internet links, cut for 10 days, were restored on Sunday after federal forces arrived. Kulu Media reported that a statement posted on Facebook on Saturday evening said the Tigray regional government would temporarily move out of Mekelle and operate from another location.
Al Jazeera and the Associated Press report that Ethiopian federal forces and allied militia took control of Mekelle on Saturday afternoon, with the Tigray Peace Forces militia entering the city centre first and federal troops following. The TPLF said on social media that it had "temporarily moved out of Mekelle" and would operate from elsewhere. Reuters and AFP each cited a humanitarian source as saying government forces were present across the city.
A journalist in the city told AFP that federal troops patrolled Mekelle and occupied key government institutions on Sunday. An unnamed pro-government militia commander told AFP they had taken control of the city and were marching forward. A business owner in Mekelle, Filmon Equar Hailu, told the AP that TPLF fighters withdrew in small groups over three days and that government offices and the police headquarters were looted. He said celebratory gunfire was heard on Sunday morning as Tigray Peace Force fighters entered the city. No statement has yet come from the Ethiopian government, the army or the office of the prime minister.
Reuters reported on Sunday that Ethiopian government forces and allied militias have regained control of Mekelle, the capital of Tigray, citing three sources. The TPLF said on Facebook that it had retreated from the city and that the regional government would be temporarily moved out of Mekelle and operate from somewhere else. A militia source told Reuters that Tigray Peace Forces fighters entered the city centre on Saturday afternoon, followed by units of the Ethiopian army; a humanitarian worker and a Mekelle resident also said the government was in control. The prime minister office did not immediately comment.
Residents of Mekelle told the Associated Press that federal forces had regained control of Alula Aba Nega airport. A journalist and residents told AFP that TPLF fighters were leaving Mekelle. No official statement has come from either side.
Al Jazeera reported that the commander of the Tigray Peace Force, a group fighting alongside federal troops, said late on Thursday that TPLF forces "had been wiped out" and that his group was close to full control of Tigray. Al Jazeera said the claim could not be verified. TPLF chairman Debretsion Gebremichael acknowledged that federal forces had occupied parts of the region and said his forces would counter-attack "in due course".
Residents of Mekelle told the Associated Press that Ethiopian federal forces had regained control of Alula Aba Nega airport, about 10km from the centre of the city. The airport was seized by TPLF fighters on 23 September, after which Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to the region. An unnamed senior Ethiopian general told the Associated Press: "The military is in full control of the airport. That much I can confirm." A journalist in Mekelle and residents told AFP that TPLF fighters were leaving the city. One resident told Al Jazeera: "I am concerned that government property could be exposed to looting because there are no security forces in the city." Neither the federal government nor the TPLF has issued a statement. Because of internet and telephone cuts in Tigray, the reports could not be independently verified.