Militia reports recapture of airport in Tigray capital Mek'ele

In the escalating conflict in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, a militia allied with the government says it has recaptured the airport in the regional capital from rebels.

They now have full control of Mek'ele airport, the so-called Tigray peace forces wrote on platform Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office did not immediately comment.

Fighters from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) began a major offensive against the military last week and soon reported the capture of three airports in the region. Ethiopian government troops and allied groups quickly launched counterattacks. If the report about the recapture of Mek'ele airport is confirmed, it would be a setback for the rebels.

Since 2020, TPLF fighters and the Ethiopian central government have waged a civil war that ended with a ceasefire in late 2022. However, the TPLF no longer recognizes the agreement. It was the government in Ethiopia for almost 30 years. Their political preeminence ended when Abiy became prime minister in 2018.

Since the clear victory of Abiy's party in the parliamentary elections in June, the conflicts in Ethiopian politics have come to a head again. A few days before the TPLF reported the capture of the airports, an alliance of several ideologically different opposition groups announced that they wanted to overthrow Abiy's government. The group includes, among others, the TPLF, the Oromo Liberation Army and the ethnic-nationalist militia Fano from the Amhara region.