Ethiopian federal forces have recaptured the airport in Mekelle, capital of the northern Tigray region, according to residents who spoke to The Associated Press on Saturday, reversing a takeover by Tigrayan fighters that led to the suspension of commercial flights last month.
It was not immediately clear when federal forces retook Alula Aba Nega Airport. Residents who provided the information declined to be identified, citing fears of reprisals amid uncertainty over who controls the city.
Severe disruptions to internet and cellphone networks have made it difficult to gather and verify information from Tigray. Details of how the airport changed hands, including whether fighting occurred there, remained unclear.
“The military is in full control of the airport. That much I can confirm,” an Ethiopian general said on condition of anonymity.
Neither the Ethiopian government nor the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) had issued an official statement confirming the reported recapture. It was also unclear who controlled Mekelle itself, while an AP contributor in the city said residents were fearful of possible looting amid the uncertainty.
TPLF fighters seized the airport on September 23, prompting Ethiopian Airlines to suspend flights to Mekelle as well as the Tigrayan cities of Axum and Shire.
The African Union has urged restraint, warning that renewed tensions could threaten the peace agreement signed in 2022 to end the devastating conflict in Tigray.
The TPLF ruled Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018 before being sidelined following the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a development that eventually contributed to the outbreak of civil war.
The Pretoria Peace Agreement ended the conflict and brought an uneasy calm to the region until late 2025, when clashes resumed. The federal government has since carried out drone strikes in Tigray and deployed troops along the regional border.
Rights groups have also accused the TPLF of carrying out forced recruitment this year as tensions have mounted and fears of renewed conflict have grown.
Tigray has yet to fully recover from the previous war, with about one million people still displaced and several provisions of the peace agreement yet to be implemented.
Ethiopian authorities have accused the TPLF of maintaining alliances with neighbouring Eritrea and Ethiopian armed groups.
The federal government retains a significant military advantage, having expanded its production and use of military drones since the previous conflict.
