Government-Aligned Forces Report Advance Toward Mekelle as Civilian Life Disrupts
Forces aligned with Ethiopia’s federal government said they had advanced toward Mekelle, Tigray’s capital, as renewed fighting disrupted civilian life. The claimed capture of a town about 20 kilometers from the city was not independently verified; residents described shuttered businesses and interruptions to essential services.
Fighting between Ethiopian federal forces and an opposition alliance led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front intensified in northern Ethiopia. On October 2, the government-aligned Tigray Peace Forces said they had captured Milazat, roughly 20 kilometers southeast of Mekelle. Reuters reported that banks and shops in the city were closed as residents anticipated possible fighting.
Residents describe closed shops and disrupted services
Reuters spoke with two Mekelle residents who described closed banks and shops. Separately, the Associated Press reported disruptions to banking, communications and other services in the city, based on interviews with residents. Al Jazeera’s Ethiopia correspondent reported that some civilians had begun leaving for neighboring regions. These accounts supported the finding that renewed fighting was affecting civilians without independently confirming the militia’s territorial claim.
The Ethiopian military, government and TPLF had not confirmed the reported capture of Milazat in Reuters’ account. The precise front line, whether forces would enter Mekelle and how many people had fled remained unclear. Reuters had not verified a video said to show fighters in Milazat.
Diplomatic rupture added to regional tensions
CurrentFront’s October 1 report on Ethiopia and Eritrea’s diplomatic rupture explains the preceding regional escalation. The development in this report was the claimed advance toward Mekelle and its immediate effect on civilian activity. The distance and capture of Milazat were attributed to a party to the fighting; they were not independently verified territorial changes.
The fighting marked the sharpest escalation since the 2020–2022 Tigray war. Ethiopia and Eritrea severed diplomatic relations on October 1 after Ethiopia closed its embassy in Asmara and ordered Eritrean diplomats to leave. The African Union urged restraint. For the diplomatic background, read CurrentFront’s earlier report.
Mekelle is Tigray’s main city. Fighting closer to it could deepen disruptions to food purchases, transport, communications and aid access. The diplomatic rupture also reduced a channel for managing tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea as the northern conflict escalated. This was a risk assessment based on the reported conditions, not a prediction that the city would fall or that Eritrea would enter the fighting.
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