Ethiopian Forces Conducting Cleanup Operations in Mekelle

Mekelle (Caasimada Online) – The Ethiopian government forces have announced that they are conducting cleansing operations inside the city of Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region, as reported shortly before by Reuters.

On the other hand, the AFP news agency reported that the Ethiopian army and supporting groups are also managing the Mekelle airport, Alula Aba Nega, for the second day, while government bases and other facilities in Mekelle are deserted, after the TPLF group forces left the city.

The AFP report also stated that the takeover of Mekelle by the government-supported forces of Ethiopia signifies the collapse of the TPLF, which again appears to be engaged in battles attempting to quickly regain control of the Tigray region and pressure the Abiy government, which has been defeated, thus restoring the upper hand to the government of Abiy Ahmed.

The situation that weeks ago seemed to threaten Abiy's administration, when the TPLF resumed fighting on September 23, now appears to have been removed, and the TPLF and the plan they united with other groups opposing the Addis Ababa government have been halted, with pressure now returned to the TPLF, which is now retreating to the rural and mountainous areas of the Tigray region, while the areas the TPLF reached in the Afar region are quickly losing their control, marking another setback, while stability is returning to Addis Ababa.

This battle is taking a different turn, if the Ethiopian army moves towards the Eritrean border, with Abiy's focus areas including Adigrat, which is considered the largest Ethiopian city closest to the Eritrean border, and is a crucial route leading to Eritrea and the Red Sea, putting pressure on Eritrea, which the Ethiopian government has accused of supporting the TPLF, which has now lost control of the war.

However, this progress comes after the Ethiopian government forces and supporting militias have achieved rapid victories in recent days within Tigray, where heavy fighting erupted last week between the government and an armed coalition led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The new conflict is the largest to occur in the region since the Pretoria agreement in November 2022 ended the two-year-long war between the federal government and the TPLF.