Airstrikes Hit Tigray After Mekelle Falls to Federal Forces

Airstrikes and artillery fire hit Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region overnight after federal forces captured Mekelle, marking a rapid and dangerous escalation in fighting that had already raised fears of a wider regional war.

Reuters reports that a humanitarian bulletin circulated among aid groups said at least 17 people were killed in strikes near Adwa and Sheraro. Reuters could not independently confirm all the reported attacks or identify who launched the airstrikes.

The new strikes materially change the picture from Pamphlets’ report yesterday that Mekelle had changed hands after Tigrayan fighters withdrew. The capital’s capture did not end the war; the battlefield is moving north and west while civilians again absorb the cost.

The regional danger

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting the armed opposition; all three deny the allegation. Addis Ababa and Asmara severed diplomatic ties last week, while analysts are watching federal forces move toward the Eritrean border.

That matters because the 2020-2022 Tigray war killed hundreds of thousands and involved Eritrean forces fighting alongside Ethiopia’s federal army. The alliances of that war have fractured, leaving a more volatile regional configuration.

Peace cannot mean another military reset

Mekelle reopening shops and communications while shells fall elsewhere captures the contradiction. A capital can be occupied, a front line can move, and yet the political causes of war remain. A durable settlement requires guarantees for civilian life and political participation, not simply a new balance of armed control.

Source: Reuters. Contextual photo: Mulugeta Atsbeha / Voice of America, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.