Ethiopian forces capture Tigray capital Mekelle amid rising tensions with Eritrea
Federal Ethiopian forces took control of Mekelle, capital of the northern Tigray region, on Saturday after the Tigray People's Liberation Front announced its withdrawal following nearly two weeks of fighting that began on 23 September. Hours later, a drone strike on a displacement camp in Sheraro killed at least eight civilians including a child, raising concerns about potential escalation involving neighbouring Eritrea.
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Ethiopian federal troops and allied militia fighters entered Mekelle, the capital of Tigray region in northern Ethiopia, on Saturday after the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) announced it had temporarily left the city. The army had previously secured the city's main airport.
The military advance followed nearly two weeks of intense fighting that began on 23 September between federal forces and TPLF fighters. The renewed conflict has raised fears of a return to the devastating civil war that affected the region between 2020 and 2022.
Hours after the fall of Mekelle, a separate incident occurred when a drone strike struck a displacement camp in Sheraro, located in western Tigray, on Sunday. According to humanitarian workers and witnesses, the strike killed at least eight civilians, including a child, and seriously wounded six others. The camp had housed thousands of people who had been displaced by the earlier conflict.
Analysts have warned that the continued northward advance of Ethiopian forces, combined with the drone strikes, may be laying groundwork for a wider confrontation with Eritrea. Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of supporting the TPLF. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, recently confirmed for another parliamentary term, reiterated on Monday his long-standing position that landlocked Ethiopia has a right to direct sea access. This claim concerns Eritrea, which fears Ethiopia may be seeking control of its port city of Assab.
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