Ethiopian federal forces retake Mekelle airport from Tigrayan fighters, residents say

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopian federal forces have retaken the airport in Mekelle, the capital of the northern Tigray region, according to people in the city who spoke to The Associated Press on Saturday, reversing a takeover by Tigrayan fighters that prompted the suspension of commercial flights last month.

It wasn't immediately clear when the federal forces recaptured Alula Aba Nega Airport. Those who provided the information declined to be identified for fear of retribution amid uncertainty over who controlled the city.

Severe disruptions to internet and cellphone networks have made gathering and verifying information from Tigray difficult. Details of how the airport changed hands, including whether fighting took place there, remained unclear.

Neither the Ethiopian government nor the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, had commented on the airport’s reported capture. It wasn't clear who controlled Mekelle itself. An AP contributor in the city said that residents feared looting amid the uncertainty.

TPLF fighters seized the airport on Sept. 23, prompting Ethiopian Airlines to suspend flights to Mekelle and the Tigrayan cities of Axum and Shire. The African Union urged restraint, warning that renewed tensions threatened the peace agreement signed in 2022.

Federal troops are fighting alongside allied Tigrayan forces against the TPLF. The AP previously reported that the Tigray Peace Force, a breakaway faction of the Tigrayan rebels, was operating alongside federal forces in the neighboring Afar region.

The reported change in control follows a sharp deterioration in relations between Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea. Ethiopia on Thursday ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave and announced the closure of its embassy in Eritrea. Eritrea said that it would sever diplomatic ties.

Ethiopian authorities have accused Eritrea of supporting the TPLF , an allegation Eritrea has denied.

The fighting has brought renewed hardship to civilians still recovering from the previous 2020-2022 war. Residents of Mekelle told the AP earlier this week that communications, banking and other essential services had been disrupted.

In September, residents described fears of renewed isolation following the suspension of flights. They also reported that roads connecting Tigray and Afar had been closed to civilian traffic, although the AP couldn't independently verify the closures.

The renewed hostilities have undermined the November 2022 Pretoria peace agreement that ended two years of war between federal forces and the TPLF. Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopia’s military during that conflict.

The TPLF has since joined six other opposition groups in an alliance seeking to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. The extent of their military coordination remains unclear.