Government forces seize capital of Ethiopia's Tigray region from rebels

A motorist along the streets of Tigray Regional Government capital Mekelle, Ethiopia, September 26, 2026. Obtained by REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Pro-government forces have regained control of the capital of Tigray, they said on Sunday, dealing a major setback to the opposition alliance that rules the northern Ethiopian region.

The Tigray Peace Forces, a pro-government militia, said in a post on Facebook that its fighters controlled Mekelle. A source close to the militia had earlier told Reuters it entered the centre of the city on Saturday afternoon, followed by the Ethiopian military.

A humanitarian source and a Mekelle resident, who asked not to be named, confirmed the city was in the hands of government forces and their allies.

The taking of Mekelle by pro-government forces is a major loss for the opposition alliance led by the TPLF, which launched a big offensive on September 23 against the Ethiopian military.

Ethiopian federal forces have made a quick counterattack into Tigray, but analysts say the fighting — the worst escalation since a 2020-2022 civil war — threatens to escalate into a wider regional conflict.

The federal government in Addis Ababa severed diplomatic ties with Eritrea last week, accusing it of supporting the rebel alliance alongside Sudan and Egypt.

Egypt's foreign minister denied backing the TPLF and its allies. "I have to be very clear, we are not party to the domestic crisis facing Ethiopia now. It has nothing to do with us," Badr Abdelatty told Reuters on Sunday. Eritrea and Sudan also deny helping the rebels.

Abdelatty was speaking ahead of a meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Eritrean and Somali counterparts in Egypt on Sunday. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s army, was also due to attend the talks.

Egypt and Ethiopia, two of Africa’s most populous countries, have been at loggerheads for years over Ethiopia’s construction of a major dam on the Nile River, which Egypt views as a threat to its water security.

“It is an existential issue. It’s life or death for 110 million people,” Abdelatty said.

Reporting by Ammu Kannampillay; Additional reporting by Alexander Dziadosz, Dina Sakr and Sayed Sheasha in El Alamein; Editing by Silvia Aloisi, Helen Popper and Alison Williams