Ethiopian Forces Recapture Mekelle Airport Amid Regional Escalation
Ethiopian federal forces recaptured Alula Aba Nega Airport in Mekelle after a rebel coalition led by the TPLF launched a wide-scale offensive to topple Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The Ethiopian National Defense Forces and allied pro-government militias have recaptured Alula Aba Nega Airport in Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region. The airport had been seized on September 23 by the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, a seven-party rebel coalition led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). The offensive, which also saw the seizure of airports in Axum and Shire, forced Ethiopian Airlines to suspend all service to the region.
Fighting has expanded beyond Tigray into the Amhara and Afar states, leaving hundreds dead. The conflict has reached the capital, Addis Ababa, through drone strikes, and has spread south toward the pilgrimage site of Lalibela. TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael characterized the struggle as a regional war to control the Red Sea and vowed to continue guerrilla attacks against the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.
The crisis has triggered a diplomatic collapse between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Ethiopian government severed ties and expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats, accusing Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt of supporting the rebels. Eritrea denied these claims, accusing Ethiopia of planning an invasion to secure Red Sea coast access. The United States Department of State and the African Union have urged maximum restraint, warning that the hostilities shatter a 2022 peace agreement and threaten a wider humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa.
