Ethiopian Forces Enter Tigray Town of Adwa Without a Fight, Residents Say

Ethiopian federal forces and an allied militia entered the town of Adwa in northern Tigray on Sunday, Oct. 11, without a fight, residents say. Fighters from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) had left a day earlier.

Adwa is one of the most populated towns in the region and sits roughly 40 km (24 miles) from the Eritrean border. It is the latest place the TPLF has given up as the army pushes it back toward that frontier.

Looting and fear in the town

One resident, who gave only the name Aferwerki, said all the shops were closed. "Last night, many government institutions, including Adwa Hospital, were looted," he said.

A second resident, who asked not to be named, confirmed the TPLF had withdrawn. He said government forces were deployed in the town but had not yet reached the centre. "The roads are deserted. People are very afraid of theft," he said.

TPLF Vice President Amanuel Assefa said he "did not wish to comment."

The conflict monitor ACLED said Ethiopian drone strikes hit a hotel in Adwa on Oct. 4, wounding between five and nine people, including security personnel. Some ACLED sources indicated that TPLF Chairman Debretsion Gebremichael and other senior officials were at the hotel. ACLED stressed that this had not been verified.

How the front moved

The fighting began on Sept. 23, when a seven-group armed alliance including the TPLF started fighting Ethiopian forces and captured the airport at Mekelle. The TPLF had announced the alliance on Sept. 20, saying its aim was to overthrow Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, whose Prosperity Party won the June national election. On Sept. 23 it called its campaign a "defensive war" against intensifying Ethiopian attacks.

The TPLF withdrew from Mekelle on Oct. 3 and said it was moving its regional administration "temporarily" elsewhere. Government-allied forces then entered the regional capital. Adigrat has since fallen as well.

On Sunday, Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights from Addis Ababa to Mekelle for the first time since Sept. 23. Telecommunications services have also been restored.

Getachew Reda, a former Tigray leader who now advises Abiy, was welcomed by soldiers in Mekelle alongside Ethiopia's intelligence chief, Redwan Hussein. "We will bring visible change, a change beyond mere hope," Getachew told supporters. He gave no specifics.

The Eritrea problem

The bigger risk is outside Tigray. Ethiopia accuses Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of backing the rebel alliance. Khartoum and Cairo deny it. Eritrea also denies it.

A foreign security source told AFP last week that between 5,000 and 8,000 Eritrean soldiers are present in Tigray. That is a single, unnamed source, and neither government has confirmed the figure.

Eritrea fought alongside Ethiopia's army in the 2020-2022 war against the TPLF. It cut diplomatic ties with Ethiopia on Oct. 1 over the accusations. On Saturday, Oct. 10, Asmara asked the UN Security Council to take "deterrent measures" after what it called Ethiopia's "declaration of war." Ethiopia says Eritrea is the one that started a war. The two countries also fought a border war in 1998-2000.

Regional diplomacy is shifting too. Over a weekend in early October, Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi hosted Eritrea's Isaias Afwerki, Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Somalia's Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at El Alamein. Their joint declaration said governance of the Red Sea is "the exclusive responsibility of the littoral states." Ethiopia has no coastline. Its Foreign Ministry responded that it must be included in any such discussions.

International reaction

Massad Boulos, the State Department's senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, urged both countries to "respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their neighbors" and return to the dialogue set out in their 2018 peace framework. The State Department said the conflict "jeopardizes ongoing U.S. collaboration on shared interests" with both governments.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on all sides to end hostilities and resume dialogue.

What comes next

The army now holds Mekelle and Adigrat and has entered Adwa. The TPLF has not said where its forces are regrouping or whether it will fight for ground closer to the border.

It is not yet clear whether federal troops stop short of the frontier or push on while Ethiopia and Eritrea each blame the other for starting a war. Eritrea's request for UN Security Council action is pending.