Tigray forces seize the regional capital, saying that Ethiopian-led forces are running away Reuters

By Giulia Paravicini and Maggie Fick

Gondar, Ethiopia (Reuters)-The Tigray army said that after completely reversing the eight-month conflict, they took full control of the city on Tuesday and let the Ethiopian government forces run near the regional capital of Mekle.

People in Meckler, whose communications were interrupted on Monday, said the upcoming Tigray fighters were cheered. A similar scene appeared in the video footage of the northern town of Shire. Local residents said that the Eritrean army allied with the government had withdrawn and the Tigray army had entered.

Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) spokesperson Getachew Reda told Reuters on Tuesday: “We have 100% control of Meckler.”

He said that there had been some fighting on the outskirts of the city, but it was now over, adding that he could not confirm the report from the Shire.

“Our troops are still pursuing south and east until every square inch of territory is cleared by the enemy.”

He said that the expelled TPLF is re-establishing its status at Merkel, and people can walk around the street again. He said whether Tigray will now seek independence after a fierce conflict that often targets civilians.

Reuters was unable to verify his comments because telephone links to Mekelle and other areas of Tigray have been closed. The Ethiopian government announced a unilateral ceasefire on Monday, but it has not publicly responded to TPLF’s claim that it has retaken Mekelle.

Fighting in the northern part of Ethiopia has caused thousands of deaths, 2 million people have been displaced, and hundreds of thousands are on the verge of famine.

The United States said it should end the atrocities immediately, and warned Ethiopia and Eritrea that Washington will pay close attention.

“In the face of the terrorist incident in Tigray, we will not stand idly by,” said Robert Goldk, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs of the US State Department.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement that if the ceasefire statement leads to measures to “end the conflict, stop atrocities, and allow unhindered humanitarian assistance,” then it may be positive.

He once again called on the Eritrean army to withdraw from Ethiopian territory, which is a necessary step to achieve a lasting ceasefire.

Unilateral ceasefire?

Greg Meeks, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that if Tigray’s disaster is not abated, “we may witness one of our closest and most powerful allies in Africa go to civil war and eventually lead to the collapse of the country.”

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday that he hopes a political solution will be possible. The diplomat said that the UN Security Council will discuss the Tigray issue this week.

It is not clear whether the other parties to the conflict will accept the ceasefire. The spokesperson for the Ethiopian military, the Minister of Information of Eritrea and the spokesperson for the Amhara region all said they could not comment. Getachew described the ceasefire as a “joke,” and hundreds of people were killed in fighting near the border with the Afar region on Tuesday. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the fighting.

Getachew said that in the next few days, the TPLF forces will hunt down troops from the neighboring Amhara region (south and west) and from neighboring Eritrea in the north and northwest of Tigray, adding that they will cross if necessary. Pursue boundaries.

On Monday night, when the phone connection with Mekelle was still open, residents said that the soldiers had disappeared from the street and that TPLF troops had entered the city. Witnesses said the residents greeted them with flags and songs.

Getaqiu urged the international community to force the government to allow food and aid to enter the area, accusing Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed for blocking the area.

Abiy’s spokesperson and the head of the Tigray government working group did not respond to messages seeking comment on the food lockdown or other comments made by Getachew on Tuesday. The government previously denied blocking food aid and said it provided most of the food. The United Nations has previously stated that soldiers have sealed off food in TPLF-controlled areas.

On Tuesday, residents said that in Shire, a large town at the intersection of several major roads, the Eritrean army would no longer be seen.

“There is no Eritrean in the town,” a Shire resident told Reuters. He sent a short video showing residents crowding in their cars, beeping wildly, and waving a huge golden and red Tigray flag.

Another Shire resident told Reuters, “Overnight, the Eritrean army moved from Aksum in the Shire towards Sheraro on a large scale.” Sheraro was close to the Eritrean border.

Famine and abuse of power

Ethiopia is awaiting the results of the national and regional parliamentary elections to be held on June 21. Due to insecurity and logistical issues, voting was conducted in only three of the country’s ten regions.

Tigray did not vote. TPLF is a race-based political party that has dominated Ethiopia’s national politics for nearly three decades and has been fighting the central government since early November. It has made significant territorial gains in the past week.

Reports of brutal gang rapes and mass killings of civilians interrupted the fighting. At least 12 rescuers were killed.

The United Nations stated that at least 350,000 people are facing famine, and another 5 million people need immediate food assistance-the worst global food crisis in a decade.

Last week, Ethiopian military airstrikes on a crowded market killed at least 64 people and injured 180 others. The doctor said there were women and children among the dead and wounded, and the Ethiopian army prevented the ambulance from reaching the scene for more than a day. The military stated that all the victims were combatants.

(Reporting by Maggie Fick in Nairobi; additional reporting by Dawit Endeshaw in Addis Ababa; writing by Katherine Houreld; editing by Catherine Evans, Philippa Fletcher, and William Maclean)