Ethiopian federal forces and the allied Tigray Peace Forces militia have taken control of Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region, according to three sources cited by Reuters. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) acknowledged its retreat in a Facebook statement. It said the regional government would be "temporarily moved out of Mekelle and operate from somewhere else."
Two points rest on more than one source: the TPLF's own acknowledgement and the Reuters account of government control. The Tigray Peace Forces' post on X on 3 October, saying they were "currently clearing the city of Mekelle," is a claim by one party to the fighting. Telecommunications and banking are severely disrupted across Tigray, so independent verification is limited. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office did not respond to requests for comment.
What the sources report
The advance followed the TPLF-led offensive of 23 September, when forces seized Mekelle's Alula Aba Nega Airport and airfields at Axum and Shire, as Crisis.Zone reported. Pro-government forces were reported to have recaptured Alamata, about 200 kilometres south of Mekelle, on 29 September. On 3 October, federal forces and allied militias retook the airport, roughly 10 kilometres from central Mekelle. Residents confirmed this to the Associated Press, and others told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that TPLF fighters and leaders were leaving.
On the afternoon of 3 October, a source close to the Tigray Peace Forces said its fighters entered central Mekelle, followed by the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF). A humanitarian source told AFP the city was under government control. A resident told AFP: "I am concerned that government and public property could be exposed to looting because there are no security forces in the city." Crisis.Zone has no verified casualty figure for the fighting around Mekelle.
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Who secures Mekelle, and on what terms
Control of a capital does not settle the disputes behind the fighting. The 2022 Pretoria Agreement, which ended the earlier civil war, excluded Eritrea and Amhara forces. Disarmament was never completed, and Western Tigray's status was never resolved. No source cited here describes a political process that includes the excluded parties. Whether Mekelle's new security arrangements address that gap remains open.
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