The leader of Ethiopia’s Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has pledged to continue fighting government forces despite losing several strategic towns, including the regional capital, Mekelle, as renewed hostilities threaten to plunge northern Ethiopia into another prolonged conflict.
TPLF chairman Debretsion Gebremichael said on Friday that his forces remained engaged in military operations against the Ethiopian army, dismissing suggestions that recent territorial setbacks signalled the movement’s defeat.
“Tigray will remain a graveyard for its enemies,” Debretsion declared in remarks broadcast by Tigrayan television.
His comments came nearly three weeks after Ethiopian federal forces captured Mekelle on October 3, following the withdrawal of TPLF fighters from the city.
Debretsion claimed that Tigrayan forces had inflicted significant casualties on government troops and achieved several battlefield successes in recent days.
The claims could not be independently verified, while Ethiopian authorities have not confirmed the reported losses.
Renewed fighting threatens fragile peace
Fighting resumed on September 23, nearly four years after a peace agreement brought an end to the devastating 2020–2022 civil war in northern Ethiopia.
Since the latest escalation, federal forces have seized several strategically important towns, although the TPLF maintains that its fighters continue to conduct operations against government positions.
The Ethiopian military also announced on Friday that its forces had killed an unspecified number of TPLF fighters and captured four others during an operation in the western Benishangul-Gumuz region, near the Sudanese border.
According to the military, the operation targeted an armed formation identified as Army 13, which authorities accused of attempting to destabilise the region.
Regional broadcaster Benishangul-Gumuz Media TV reported that Ethiopian security officials alleged the fighters were receiving foreign support, including from Sudan and Eritrea.
Those accusations have not been independently substantiated.
Regional tensions deepen
The renewed conflict has heightened tensions between Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea, with Addis Ababa accusing Asmara of supporting armed groups opposed to the federal government.
Eritrea has denied allegations of interference and expressed concern over Ethiopian statements concerning access to the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has appointed a caretaker administration to govern Tigray, with regional elections expected within six months.
The TPLF has rejected the arrangement, raising further uncertainty over the region’s political future.
The latest fighting comes as northern Ethiopia continues to struggle with the humanitarian consequences of the previous civil war, which displaced millions and devastated communities.
Civilian casualties have also been reported in recent drone attacks.
According to the Addis Standard news outlet, four people were killed in southern Tigray this week when a drone strike hit an area where livestock were being loaded onto a truck.
The publication separately reported that a drone strike struck an elementary school in neighbouring Amhara on Tuesday, killing at least six children and injuring 20 others.
Government forces are also battling Fano armed groups in Amhara, adding another front to Ethiopia’s widening security crisis.
With both federal forces and Tigrayan fighters signalling their determination to continue military operations, fears are growing that the renewed conflict could further destabilise Ethiopia and draw neighbouring countries into a broader regional confrontation.
