Ethiopian federal forces have taken full control of Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region, marking a significant development in the renewed conflict that reignited last month. According to a local journalist, government troops entered the city on Saturday without resistance after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces and leaders withdrew. Federal troops were reported to be patrolling Mekelle and overseeing key institutions on Sunday, with communications restored after being cut for over a week.

The latest clashes began on September 23, reviving fears of a return to the devastating civil war that gripped the region from 2020 to 2022. The TPLF, which has been the dominant power in Tigray, ousted a government-appointed administration earlier this year, leading to heightened tensions. The group’s leader, Debretsion Gebremichael, stated recently that the TPLF intends to continue guerrilla-style attacks, similar to tactics used during the previous conflict when Mekelle fell to federal forces.

Amid the military developments, regional leaders met in Egypt’s coastal city of Alamein on Sunday to discuss the potential for the conflict to escalate into a wider war. The summit brought together Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and Sudanese Armed Forces Commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Relations between these states and Ethiopia are strained, and each has been accused by Addis Ababa of supporting the TPLF rebels, a charge that Egypt, Sudan, and Eritrea have denied.

Eritrea, which shares a border with northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region, is the country most directly involved in the conflict. Ethiopian officials have accused Eritrea of backing the rebels as part of a strategy to keep the fighting near Ethiopia’s border, amid longstanding concerns over access to Eritrea’s Red Sea coastline. Eritrea, in turn, has voiced apprehensions about Ethiopia’s intentions toward its borders.

In Mekelle, businesses and shops remained shuttered as residents moved goods to safer locations to avoid damage or looting. With no police visible in the city, locals reported organizing their own security measures amid a climate of uncertainty and instability.

At the African Business Forum, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi emphasized the need for cooperation and dialogue among African states to address cross-border challenges, including the management of natural resources and transboundary rivers. His comments were seen against the backdrop of the ongoing dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. Sisi called for relations based on mutual respect and consultation, rejecting unilateral actions and foreign interference in African affairs.