Ethiopian official promises change in Tigray after troops retake regional capital

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A former Tigray leader now advising Ethiopia’s prime minister on Sunday promised a “visible change” in the region after government-allied units retook Mekelle city following renewed fighting with opposition forces.

Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights to the city of Mekelle on Sunday for the first time since rebels led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front seized the airport on Sept. 23. They withdrew Oct. 3, when government-allied fighters entered the city.

Renewed fighting in Tigray has undermined the 2022 peace agreement that ended a two-year war, as mounting tensions between Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea have raised fears of a wider conflict.

“I would like to assure you on this occasion that we will bring visible change, a change beyond mere hope,” Getachew Reda, an adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, told supporters who greeted him and intelligence chief Redwan Hussein at Mekelle airport. He did not elaborate.

The 2020-2022 war in Tigray caused about 500,000 civilian deaths from violence, famine and the collapse of health services, according to researchers at Ghent University in Belgium.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front joined six other opposition groups last month in an alliance seeking to oust Abiy.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday urged all parties to cease hostilities and resume dialogue. He warned that fighting risked further destabilizing the wider region.

Ethiopia told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that it was taking self-defense measures, accusing Eritrea of sending troops across the border and occupying parts of northern Ethiopia. Ethiopian authorities previously have accused Eritrea of supporting the TPLF, an allegation Eritrea has denied.

Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos did not specify the measures being taken. His letter to the council did not identify the occupied areas or provide evidence supporting the allegations. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claims.

Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh urged the council to condemn what he called a “deplorable declaration of war” by Ethiopia. His response did not confirm or deny the alleged troop crossings.

The dispute deepens a rift between the two countries whose armies fought together against the TPLF during the 2020-2022 war.

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Kiyaro reported from Hamburg, Germany. Associated Press journalist Filmon Equar Hailu in Mekelle, Ethiopia contributed to this report.