Opposition fighters in northern Ethiopia's Tigray withdraw from regional capital

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Leaders of a rebellious political group in northern Ethiopia said they had withdrawn from the regional capital, clearing the way for the entry of federal troops and their allies following renewed fighting.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, which last month seized the Mekelle airport and the city, one of Ethiopia’s largest, said in a statement Saturday that it had pulled out. It had done so in the previous two-year war, which ended with a peace agreement in 2022, apparently to spare the city from destruction.

Fighters loyal to the TPLF 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 2022 agreement.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has tried and failed to subdue Tigray’s rebellious leaders in recent months, with TPLF Chairman Debretsion Gebremichael openly challenging him. Debretsion said Thursday that the fighting was a “continuation of the previous war” and that his fighters would keep attacking and defending Tigray from its enemies.

After federal troops take control of Mekelle, Abiy is very likely to leave regional security in the hands of the Tigray Peace Force, which comprises former members of the TPLF armed wing, Tigray Defense Forces, according to Jalale Getachew Birru, an analyst of Ethiopia for ACLED, an independent global monitor that collects, analyzes and maps data on conflict.

The Tigray Peace Force is fighting alongside federal troops against the TPLF.

Severe disruptions to internet and cellphone networks have made gathering and verifying information from Tigray difficult, although some connectivity was reported Sunday. Residents of Mekelle told The Associated Press on Saturday that federal forces had retaken the airport , although details were scanty.

Civilians looted government offices and hauled away equipment from police headquarters in Mekelle as TPLF-allied fighters withdrew, a local business owner, who witnessed the departures and looting, said Sunday. The looting targeted the TPLF administration office, the regional police headquarters and some shops, Filmon Equar Hailu said.

Speaking by phone from Mekelle, Filmon said he saw some TPLF-allied fighters with light weapons leaving the city, some on foot. Departures began in small groups about three days ago and continued through Saturday afternoon, he said.

Small groups of fighters from the Tigray Peace Force entered Mekelle, Filmon said, adding he heard celebratory gunfire overnight into Sunday morning.

The TPLF is one of seven opposition groups that declared an alliance late last month whose objective is to remove Abiy. He rose to the premiership in 2018, and was reelected earlier this year. In addition to once being Tigray’s ruling party, the TPLF was the dominant group in a coalition that ruled Ethiopia between 1991 and 2018.

The fighting has brought renewed hardship to civilians still recovering from the previous war. Residents have 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.

The conflict is also testing regional alliances, with Ethiopia charging that the TPLF is likely getting support from Eritrea and Egypt. Relations between Ethiopia and Egypt have been cold in recent years because of a large power dam on the Nile River that is opposed by Cairo over concerns it could diminish the amount of water received in Egypt.

Abiy also angered Eritrea over his stated wish for Ethiopia to gain sovereign access to the Eritrean Red Sea port of Assab .

Ethiopia on Thursday closed its embassy in Eritrea and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave Addis Ababa , the federal capital, citing their alleged “involvement in activities that pose a direct threat to Ethiopia’s national security.” Eritrea retaliated by saying it was cutting diplomatic ties with its neighbor.

Egypt denies supporting the TPLF, and Eritrea says Abiy is trying to externalize an internal conflict.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki traveled to Egypt on a working visit at the invitation of his counterpart there, Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel said Saturday.

Afwerki and President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi would “discuss further enhancement of bilateral ties during the visit,” Yemane said on social platform X.

____ Kazziha reported from Nairobi, Kenya.