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Fighting continues in Ethiopia’s Tigray region despite federal capture of Mekelle
Combat is still under way in Ethiopia’s Tigray region even after federal forces entered the regional capital Mekelle less than two weeks after fighting resumed in late September, with reports of hundreds killed and the Tigray forces describing their departure as a strategic withdrawal.
The reported federal recapture of Mekelle, capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, has not ended the war around it. Fighting continues, and reported casualties are climbing.
Ethiopian federal forces entered Mekelle less than two weeks after clashes with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front restarted in late September, following a period of uneasy calm. The Tigray side has described its pullback from Mekelle and other main towns as a strategic withdrawal rather than a rout, indicating that its fighters intend to keep operating from other areas instead of holding cities street by street.
Reports from the region point to hundreds of people killed since hostilities resumed, including dozens in drone strikes and air force bombardments. These figures have not been independently verified, and access for journalists and aid workers remains limited, but they suggest a conflict that is spreading suffering rather than containing it.
For civilians, the change of control in Mekelle brings mixed realities. Federal forces can sometimes halt direct street fighting inside the city. At the same time, their arrival often comes with security sweeps, arrests, and the uncertainty of living between government troops and an armed Tigrayan force regrouping in the countryside. People in rural areas and along roads out of Mekelle remain exposed to airstrikes and ground clashes as both sides maneuver.
The renewed war disrupts an already fragile humanitarian situation. Aid agencies have long warned that Tigray’s population faces food shortages, damaged health services, and blocked transport routes. Drone and air force attacks that kill dozens not only cause immediate deaths and injuries; they also make it harder to move convoys, keep clinics open, or repair power and water systems.
On the battlefield, the emphasis on a “strategic withdrawal” points to a shift toward more mobile tactics, using terrain and local support instead of fixed defensive lines in urban centers. For the federal military, control of Mekelle offers political symbolism and a logistical hub but doesn’t automatically neutralize armed Tigrayan units. Holding the city while pursuing forces dispersed across surrounding areas adds to the strain on troops and supply chains.
The implications for Ethiopia’s wider stability are serious. Fighting in Tigray absorbs security resources and attention, weighs on an economy already under pressure, and unsettles neighbors and international partners who had hoped an earlier ceasefire would last. Heavy use of air power by Addis Ababa increases the risk of civilian casualties and can deepen anger among communities that bear the brunt of strikes.
What happens next will depend on both military and political moves. Signs to watch include any new ceasefire proposals, changes in the tempo of airstrikes, evidence of civilian displacement, and the response of outside actors such as African regional organizations and major donors, who will decide how hard to push for a political track instead of accepting a protracted fight.