Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels urged to disarm as commander vows to fight on

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An official in Tigray’s new federal-backed administration urged rebel fighters to lay down their weapons Friday, hours after a rebel commander called for continued resistance despite losing the northern Ethiopian region’s capital.

The calls to surrender and fight on came nearly three weeks after rebels lost control of Mekelle. At a hospital in the city, two wounded men said a drone strike killed four civilians as they loaded goats onto a truck earlier this week.

Redae Halefom Woldeselassie, the caretaker administration’s chief executive for political and public mobilization, said rebel forces were collapsing and urged fighters to enter a disarmament and reintegration program.

“This is not the time for settling scores, I call upon you to return to your homes and continue your civilian lives,” he said in Mekelle.

He dismissed the prospect of the rebels retaking the city and portrayed the conflict as serving a small group of leaders rather than the people of Tigray.

Hours earlier, Lt. Gen. Fisseha Kidanu, identified in a television broadcast as commander of the Tigray army, pledged to reverse recent military setbacks.

“Local militias across the region — alongside all volunteers joining the resistance — are expected to engage the enemy,” he said Thursday night on Tigray Broadcast Media, a new rebel television station. His location was not disclosed.

Fisseha urged attacks on government-held positions despite his opponents’ advantages in drones and heavy weapons. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, has also claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on government forces. The Associated Press could not independently verify those claims.

Government-allied fighters entered Mekelle on Oct. 4 after the TPLF withdrew. Ethiopia’s government subsequently established a six-month caretaker administration promising to restore services, help displaced people return and prepare for elections.

The government’s allies include the Tigray Peace Force, comprising former members of the TPLF’s armed wing — a division within Tigrayan forces that has complicated the renewed conflict.

Redae said Ethiopian troops and allied forces were conducting joint security operations, including measures to prevent looting. He promised preparations for displaced residents to return but gave no timetable.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, speaking Monday to the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, accused the TPLF of acquiring weapons and forcibly recruiting young people instead of disarming under the November 2022 Pretoria peace agreement. He said his government had done everything within its capacity to implement the accord.

Wounded men describe drone strike

At Ayder Hospital in Mekelle, Luel Berhanu, 22, and Samuel Belay, 20, said they were loading goats onto a truck in Finariwa, about 80 kilometers (49 miles) south of the city, when a strike hit around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

They said four civilians were killed and about six people wounded. The AP could not independently verify the casualties or establish who carried out the attack.

Luel said the truck’s headlights were on and a drone was hovering overhead shortly before the explosion. He said the blast severely injured his right eye and right arm, leaving him unable to see through that eye.

Samuel said they were working as day laborers loading the animals.

Hospital footage showed Luel with a bloodstained bandage covering his right eye and dressings around his shoulder and arm. Samuel lay on his side with an intravenous line attached to his arm.

A witness interviewed by the AP reported movements earlier that day by fighters identified as Agew Shengo, a militia that has previously fought alongside Tigrayan forces in neighboring Amhara region. Luel said rebel forces had been in the area several hours before the strike but none were present when it occurred.

Losing Mekelle may not end the war

The renewed fighting has effectively shattered the Pretoria agreement, which ended the devastating 2020-2022 war.

Magnus Taylor, deputy Horn of Africa director at the International Crisis Group, told the AP last week that controlling towns and roads would not necessarily secure rural areas where Tigrayan fighters regrouped during the previous war.

“We shouldn’t imagine that this conflict is completely over just because the TPLF has lost Mekelle,” he said.

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Amir Aman Kiyaro reported from Hamburg, Germany. Filmon Equar Hailu reported from Mekelle, Ethiopia.