UPDATE, OCTOBER 4 — Ethiopian government forces and allied militias have advanced beyond Mekelle’s airport and seized the centre of the Tigray regional capital, according to three sources cited by Reuters.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front confirmed that its forces retreated. A spokesperson said Tigray’s regional government would temporarily relocate, while Ethiopia’s prime minister’s office had not commented when Reuters published.

What changed

TNC’s October 3 update reported that federal troops had regained Alula Aba Nega Airport, about 10 kilometres from central Mekelle. The latest report moves the story from control of that airport to control of the regional capital itself, and includes the TPLF’s confirmation of its retreat.

Reuters described the capture as a major setback for the TPLF-led opposition alliance. The advance does not by itself establish that the wider fighting has ended.

Regional stakes

The renewed conflict is the most serious escalation since Ethiopia’s devastating 2020–2022 civil war. Ethiopia severed diplomatic relations with Eritrea this week and has accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting the rebel alliance; those countries deny the allegation.

Sources: Reuters’ October 4 report on the seizure of Mekelle; Reuters’ October 3 airport report; AFP’s earlier militia-claim report.

Lead image: public-domain national flags from Wikimedia Commons (Eritrea) and Wikimedia Commons (Ethiopia, drawn by SKopp), arranged side by side. Not a photograph of the fighting.