Ethiopia.. Federal forces enter the capital of Tigray after the rebels withdraw

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Today, Saturday, Ethiopian federal forces entered the city of Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region in the north of the country, according to what the French news agency reported from a humanitarian source, after the forces of the rebel regional authorities had largely evacuated it, according to residents.

Since September 23, violent clashes have been taking place in northern Ethiopia following attacks launched by the Tigray People's Liberation Front on the Afar and Amhara regions, raising fears of a renewal of the devastating civil war that the north of the country witnessed between 2020 and 2022, which claimed the lives of about 600,000 people.

But federal forces and pro-government groups were able to repel the rebels, and they advanced north towards the capital, Mekele.

The humanitarian source quoted field crews as saying that “Ethiopian federal forces and their allies were spotted in Mekelle... in several locations” inside the city.

Before that, the journalist said that FLN fighters and leaders were “leaving Mekele... At this moment, government offices and police stations have become empty of security personnel.”

One resident told Agence France-Presse: “I am concerned that government and public property will be looted because there are no security forces in the city.” Another person expressed his fear that "chaos will spread in the city." He added, "I also fear for my life. I want to quickly return to law and order."

The conflict led to a deterioration in relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea and Egypt, which Addis Ababa accuses of supporting the rebels.

The leader of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, Debretsion Gebremichael, said in a video published on Thursday: "This is a regional war, and its goal is to control the Red Sea."

Eritrea has long feared that Ethiopia, which does not have access to the sea, would seek to invade its territory and control access to the Red Sea.

Gebremichael hinted in Thursday's video that the Front would continue to launch guerrilla-style attacks, as it did when Mekelle fell into the hands of government forces in 2020, in the early stages of the previous war.

The MILF's subsequent insurgency campaign led to it regaining control of the city in mid-2021.

He added, "We are working according to a strategy that allows us to strike the enemy wherever we want."

The rebels initially made advances in the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions, with the participation of local armed groups.

But they were forced to retreat this week, as federal forces launched a counterattack inside Tigray territory on three axes towards Mekele, according to the Critical Threats Project of the American Enterprise Research Institute.

The pro-government "Tigray Peace Force" militia said on Friday that it had "complete control of Mekelle Alola Aba Nega Airport", located about ten kilometers outside the city.

A humanitarian source reported on Friday that the Tigray People's Liberation Front had completely withdrawn from the Afar region.

The source said, "The Tigray People's Liberation Front has withdrawn from Afar since yesterday. There has been no significant change in the humanitarian situation after (the fighters) carried out looting and destruction during their withdrawal, and obtaining food has become impossible in the north of the country."