Ethiopian federal forces have reportedly regained control of Alula Aba Nega Airport near Mekelle, while Tigrayan rebel fighters and leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front were seen withdrawing from the city, according to separate accounts cited by Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

Two sources, including one with knowledge of developments in Mekelle and a humanitarian source, told Reuters that the Ethiopian National Defence Forces had recaptured the airport. Alula Aba Nega Airport is about 10km from the centre of Mekelle.

A local journalist and residents separately told AFP that rebel fighters and TPLF leaders were seen leaving the city. The journalist said federal troops had not yet been observed inside Mekelle, leaving uncertainty over who controls the city itself.

Al Jazeera said it was unable to independently verify the reported recapture of the airport or the withdrawal of the Tigrayan forces. Media access in Ethiopia has been heavily restricted, while communications blackouts have complicated efforts to establish developments on the ground.

Residents fear a security vacuum

Residents contacted by AFP expressed concern about the absence of security forces in Mekelle and the possibility of disorder.

“I am concerned that government and public property could be exposed to looting because there are no security forces in the city,” one resident said.

Another resident said: “I am worried that lawlessness could spread in the city, and I am also afraid for my life. I want us to quickly return to law and order.”

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the Ethiopian government had not commented on the reported developments.

Counteroffensive toward Mekelle

The reports came as government forces advanced toward Mekelle along three axes. The Critical Threats Project, part of the American Enterprise Institute, said the government was pushing into Tigrayan territory as part of a counteroffensive.

The renewed fighting followed the formation of a seven-party opposition coalition led by the TPLF. The coalition reportedly includes armed groups of varying sizes from across Ethiopia.

The TPLF previously fought federal forces during Ethiopia’s 2020–2022 civil war. The renewed conflict has involved fighting around Tigray and along the borders with Amhara and Afar states, although it had not reached the scale of the earlier war, according to the source report.

The coalition later launched an offensive that reportedly seized three airports around Tigray. The conflict has also taken on a wider regional dimension, with Ethiopia accusing Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting the opposition coalition. Khartoum and Cairo denied the allegations.

Eritrea, which has denied involvement in the Tigray conflict, accused Ethiopia of planning an invasion to secure sovereign access to the Red Sea coast. Ethiopia had previously ruled out seeking a conflict with Eritrea over access to the coast.

TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael said in a video published on Thursday that “the war is regional and it is a war to control the Red Sea.”