Ethiopia.. Federal Forces Enter Tigray Capital After Rebels Withdraw

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Ethiopian federal forces entered the city of Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region in the north of the country, today, Saturday, according to a humanitarian source reported by Agence France-Presse, after it was largely vacated by the regional rebel authorities, according to residents.

Since September 23, violent clashes have erupted in northern Ethiopia following attacks launched by the Tigray People's Liberation Front on the Afar and Amhara regions, raising fears of a resurgence of the devastating civil war that plagued the north of the country between 2020 and 2022, claiming around 600,000 lives.

However, federal forces and government-aligned groups have managed to repel the rebels and are advancing north towards the capital, Mekelle.

The humanitarian source reported that field teams stated that "Ethiopian federal forces and their allies have been spotted in Mekelle... in several locations" within the city.

Before that, the journalist said that fighters and leaders of the Liberation Front "are leaving Mekele... at this moment, government offices and police stations are empty of security personnel."

One resident told the French news agency: "I am worried that government and public properties will be looted due to the absence of security forces in the city." Another person expressed fear that "chaos will spread in the city." He added, "I also fear for my life. I want to return quickly to the rule of law and order."

The conflict has led to a deterioration in relations between Ethiopia and both 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 posted on Thursday: "This is a regional war, and its aim is to control the Red Sea."

Eritrea has long feared that Ethiopia, which is landlocked, would seek to invade its territory and gain control of access to the Red Sea.

In a video on Thursday, Gbermichael hinted that the front will continue to launch attacks in a guerrilla warfare style, as it did when Mekelle fell into the hands of government forces in 2020, in the early stages of the previous war.

The subsequent rebellion campaign launched by the front led to the restoration of control over the city in mid-2021.

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

Initially, the rebels made progress in the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions with the participation of local armed groups.

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

The pro-government militia "Tigray Peace Force" announced on Friday that it has "fully taken control of the Mekelle Alula Aba Nega Airport," located about ten kilometers outside the city.

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

The source stated that "the Tigray People's Liberation Front withdrew from Afar since yesterday. There has been no significant change in the humanitarian situation after the (fighters) committed acts of looting and destruction during their withdrawal, and access to food has become difficult in the north of the country."