NewzMEKELLE, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia’s federal police fanned out Friday across the regional capital of Tigray after anti-government forces pulled out, calling on residents over loudspeakers to help establish a new administration following the rebels’ withdrawal. Over the weekend, government-allied fighters had entered Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, after the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, announced its withdrawal. The TPLF had joined six other opposition groups last month in an alliance seeking to oust Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Fighting escalated late last month, undermining the 2022 peace deal. The rebels seized the Mekelle airport and the city, one of Ethiopia’s largest. On Saturday, the rebels said their forces had pulled out — similar to what they did in the previous two-year war, which ended with a peace agreement in 2022, apparently to spare the city from destruction.
Still, local government offices remained shut Friday in Mekelle as the city awaited new authorities, with police and the government-allied Tigray Peace Force in charge of security. Members of the city’s new civilian administration had arrived with federal police on Thursday but said they were awaiting instructions. The Tigray Peace Force, which includes former members of the TPLF’s armed wing, imposed an overnight curfew Wednesday.
On Thursday, federal officers carrying rifles stood beside camouflage-painted pickup trucks along a tree-lined road. Others rode in open-backed vehicles as pedestrians, cars and three-wheeled taxis moved through an intersection. No administration had taken office in Mekelle by Friday morning.
Tigray’s television and radio stations have been off the air since the TPLF withdrawal. Abiy’s government promised to restore banking, electricity, telecommunications and water services but gave no timetable. It also outlined plans to register people involved in the conflict and help them return to civilian life.
Reports of Eritrean troops raise regional tensions Further north, a government-allied commander and a conflict monitoring group have separately reported Eritrean troops entering Ethiopia, raising fears of a wider conflict. Ermiyas Ababu, a Tigray Peace Force commander, said Eritrean personnel entered Adigrat on Tuesday and Idaga Hamus on Wednesday, citing reports from his personnel in the area. No administration had taken office in Mekelle by Friday morning.Tigray’s television and radio stations have been off the air since the TPLF withdrawal.
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