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ናትና ዜናNatna News
Friday, 23 October 2026
Eritrea & the Horn of Africa · NatnaTV
Eritrea & the Horn of Africa · NatnaTV
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Federal forces pulled back from Zalambessa and Rama, monitors say, as Eritrean forces are reported digging trenches near Gundet

The Critical Threats Project's 20 October review, citing conflict monitors, reports federal forces withdrawing south from two towns on the Eritrean border and Eritrean forces digging in north of Rama. The claims could not be independently verified.

Wednesday, 21 October 2026ናትና ዜና
Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) — file photograph of the Ethiopian National Defence Force
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TPLF spokesman Negash Hiluf said Tigray forces killed 1,511 Ethiopian federal soldiers and wounded 1,050 in fighting near Merena in central Tigray on 17 and 18 October. The claim could not be independently verified and the Ethiopian government did not respond to it. Anadolu Agency reported that the statement was made in a video briefing carried by Tigray Media Corporation.

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ACLED reported that Tigray Defence Forces fighters were seen in the border town of Rama on 21 and 22 October. It said the Ethiopian army had left Rama earlier in the week and moved to Daero Tekli, between Adwa and Rama, and that neither the Ethiopian army nor the Tigray Peace Force is now present in Rama or the surrounding border areas.

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ACLED said the Tigray Peace Force regained control of Abi Adi in Central Tigray at about 14:00 on 21 October, after Tigray Defence Forces who had taken the area on 14 October withdrew from the town. Ethiopian army drones continued to fly over Abi Adi.

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ACLED reported that an Ethiopian air force jet flew over Mekelle early on Wednesday morning, alarming residents. Tigray Television, now under federal control, said the flight was routine monitoring and posed no military threat.

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The Critical Threats Project's Ethiopia War Security Review of 20 October, citing pro-TPLF sources, said federal forces had pulled back south from Zalambessa and Rama near the Eritrean border, with no fighting reported there. It said the Ethiopian Conflict Map reported Eritrean forces digging trenches south of Gundet, and Ethiomapping reported federal forces taking Bizet and Inticho west of Adigrat. The reports could not be independently verified.

The Critical Threats Project's Ethiopia War Security Review of 20 October, citing pro-TPLF sources, said the Ethiopian National Defense Forces had pulled back south from Zalambessa and Rama, two towns near the Eritrean border. It said no fighting had been reported there and that it was not clear whether Tigray forces had moved back in. The same review said the Ethiopian Conflict Map had reported Eritrean forces digging trenches south of Gundet, about 20km north of Rama, and that Ethiomapping reported federal forces had taken Bizet and Inticho, west of Adigrat, after lengthy clashes. The reports come from conflict monitors and could not be independently verified.

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