Ethiopian government forces regained control of an airport in the capital of Tigray

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The Ethiopian federal army has regained control of the main airport in the capital of the country's northern Tigray region, three sources said on Saturday, representing a major setback for an opposition coalition in its stronghold. Clashes broke out last week between a rebel coalition led by the ruling party in Tigray on the one hand, and the government and its allied forces on the other, in the most serious escalation of violence since the 2020-2022 civil war. The fighting has raised fears that it could develop into a broader regional conflict that could attract neighboring countries in the Horn of Africa and the Gulf.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott said the United States strongly urges Ethiopia and Eritrea "to exercise maximum restraint and return to dialogue and cooperation as agreed to in their 2018 peace framework." He added, "The Horn of Africa cannot bear another military conflict and a humanitarian crisis... The conflict jeopardizes ongoing American cooperation on common interests with the two countries." The federal government in Addis Ababa cut diplomatic relations with Eritrea this week, accusing it of supporting the rebel alliance alongside Sudan and Egypt. The three countries deny this.

A source familiar with the events in the city and a humanitarian source told Reuters that forces from the Ethiopian National Army regained control of Alola Aba Nega Airport in Mekele, the capital of Tigray. A third source, a Mekele resident who requested anonymity for security reasons, confirmed that government forces had taken control of the airport, and added that he could hear gunfire outside the city center. The source said that he saw some Tigray Defense Forces fighters leaving their positions and heading to their homes, and that looting of government facilities was taking place in the city. Reuters could not immediately verify these assertions, and it was not possible to contact the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the ruling party in the region, for comment. But a source close to the Front told Reuters that the city was surrounded by government forces and militias allied with them.

Mekele Airport, located about ten kilometers from the city center, was one of three airports in the region captured by opposition forces at the beginning of the fighting on September 23. The government forces' control of Mekelle will represent a major setback for the opposition coalition, although analysts are unlikely to end the conflict. In 2020, federal forces captured Mekele during the first month of the two-year war before the Tigray People's Liberation Front recaptured it seven months later.