Ethiopia government forces retake airport in Tigray’s capital, sources say

Ethiopia’s federal military has recaptured the main airport in the capital of the northern Tigray region, three sources said on Saturday, dealing a major setback to an opposition alliance in its stronghold.

Clashes pitting a rebel alliance led by Tigray’s ruling party against the government and its allied forces broke out in northern Ethiopia last week, in the most serious escalation of violence since a 2020-2022 civil war.

The fighting has stoked fears that it could escalate into a wider regional conflict, potentially drawing in neighbouring countries in the Horn of Africa and the Gulf.

In Washington, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the United States strongly urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to “exercise maximum restraint and return to dialogue and cooperation as agreed in their 2018 peace framework”.

“The Horn of Africa cannot sustain another military conflict and humanitarian crisis,” Pigott said. “A conflict jeopardises ongoing US collaboration on shared interests with both countries.”

The federal government in Addis Ababa severed diplomatic ties with Eritrea this week, accusing it of supporting the rebel alliance alongside Sudan and Egypt. The three countries deny this.

Troops from the Ethiopian National Defence Forces had regained control of Alula Aba Nega Airport in Tigray’s capital Mekelle, one source with knowledge of events in the city and a humanitarian source said.

A third source, a Mekelle resident who asked not to be named for security reasons, confirmed the taking of the airport by government forces and added they could hear gunfire outside the city centre.

This source said they had seen some Tigrayan Defence Force fighters abandoning their posts and heading home and that there was looting of government facilities taking place in the city.

Reuters could not immediately verify the assertions and the region’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, could not be immediately reached for comment. A source close to the TPLF said the city was encircled by government troops and allied militias.

Mekelle’s airport, which is around 10km from the centre of the city, was one of three airports in the region that were seized by the opposition forces at the start of the fighting on September 23.

The taking of Mekelle by government forces would be a major setback for the opposition alliance, although analysts say it would be unlikely to end the conflict.

In 2020, federal forces captured Mekelle within the first month of the two-year war before the ‌TPLF reclaimed it seven months later.