The militias of the Tigray Peace Forces (FPT), aligned with the Ethiopian Government, have reported the capture of the main Tigrinya airport located near Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray state. This advance is considered one of the most significant milestones since the reactivation of hostilities in the region, the scene of a devastating civil war that began in 2020 and left hundreds of thousands dead.
After months of disagreements between the federal Executive and regional authorities, along with growing internal divisions within Tigray's own leadership, a new armed clash erupted in mid-last month that has led to the collapse of the Pretoria (South Africa) agreements, signed in 2022 to end the previous conflict.
The Government of Ethiopia accuses countries such as Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt of supporting the so-called Forces of the Coalition for the Survival of the Peoples of Ethiopia, an insurgent bloc articulated around the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the formation that has traditionally held power in the state. This group, a central actor in the 2020 war, had been sidelined after Pretoria, until its recent return to the forefront of the conflict.
On the opposite side are the Ethiopian Army and the Tigray Peace Forces, a splinter group from the TPLF that has become the spearhead of the federal counteroffensive. According to the statement released by the FPT on social media, this operation would have culminated, for now, with the occupation of the airport.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have taken full control of the Mekelle Airport, Alula Aba Nega. We are currently liberating the city of Mekelle," announced the militia, before stating that "peace is around the corner" and that the mafia leaders of the TPLF, with their "president" Debretsion Gebremichael at the forefront, "have fled to Eritrea," a claim that has not yet been confirmed by the front.
The airport infrastructure was one of the first strategic enclaves to fall into the hands of the anti-government coalition at the beginning of its previous offensive.
A few hours before the capture of the Mekelle airport was known, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed referred for the first time indirectly to the new escalation, sending a message to the armed groups that make up the opposition alliance, without mentioning them explicitly.
"To our brothers who have strayed and are rising up against their own country, I would like to say this. If today you turn your gaze towards peace, I want to assure you that the door will always be open," he declared.