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Fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray Persists After Federal Forces Enter Mekelle
Ethiopian federal troops have entered Mekelle less than two weeks after fighting with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front resumed, but clashes continue despite a 2022 agreement that was meant to end the earlier two‑year civil war.
The capture of Mekelle by Ethiopian federal forces has not stopped fighting in Tigray, underlining the fragility of the peace deal signed in 2022 after a two‑year civil war.
Ethiopian federal forces entered Mekelle less than two weeks after war resumed in late September between the national army and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The renewed clashes come despite the 2022 agreement that was supposed to halt the previous phase of conflict.
The TPLF has described its departure from Mekelle and other main towns as a strategic withdrawal, indicating that it pulled back by choice rather than being fully routed and that it intends to continue armed resistance. Residents cited in early accounts say fighting is continuing despite the federal military presence in the regional capital.
For civilians in Tigray, the resumption of hostilities risks reopening a conflict that had already caused severe damage and displacement during the earlier war. The 2022 deal allowed some aid and services to resume, but reconstruction and political issues were still unresolved when fighting broke out again.
Control of Mekelle has strong political and symbolic weight. It is the administrative center of Tigray and was the TPLF’s main urban stronghold. Federal troops now hold the city, while the TPLF retains forces and influence elsewhere in the region.
The return to combat in Tigray also affects Ethiopia’s wider stability. The country plays a central role in the Horn of Africa and has other internal tensions and regional disputes to manage. Renewed fighting in Tigray demands troops and attention from Addis Ababa that might otherwise be directed to those issues.
For foreign governments and organizations that supported the 2022 peace process, the swift relapse into war shows that key questions over power, security arrangements, and accountability in Tigray remain unsettled.
Key signals in the coming period will include whether federal forces extend their operations beyond Mekelle into more rural parts of Tigray, how the TPLF adapts to the loss of major towns, and whether regional bodies such as the African Union attempt to restart talks.