Tigrayan forces take control of Mekelle airport
Security and local
sources said, as per reports, on September 23 that Tigrayan forces had assumed
control of Alula Aba Nega Airport. An airport employee said staff were
instructed to return home after being told the facility was no longer under
normal control.
A foreign security source
in Ethiopia also confirmed the takeover. Federal police personnel were believed
to be guarding the airport, but their status was unclear.
Flight-tracking data
showed that a scheduled Wednesday service between Mekelle and Addis Ababa had
been canceled.
The development comes
amid growing concerns that Ethiopia could face another major conflict in
Tigray. The region was the center of a devastating war between the TPLF and
federal forces from 2020 to 2022. The African Union estimates that about
600,000 people died during the conflict.
A peace agreement signed
in Pretoria brought an uneasy calm, but fighting resumed in late 2025. The
federal government has since deployed troops near Tigray and carried out drone
strikes, while rights groups have accused the TPLF of forced recruitment.
Tigray continues to face
major humanitarian challenges, with about one million people still displaced.
