Flights to Mekelle resume after Ethiopian forces recapture of Tigray capital

Flights resumed because control of Mekelle changed hands. Federal forces recaptured the city on October 3, after Tigray People’s Liberation Front fighters and leaders abandoned it. The airport could then reopen to passenger travel.

Before that change, the TPLF had seized Mekelle and its airport on September 23. Ethiopian Airlines responded by suspending flights to Mekelle, as well as routes to Axum and Hire. The suspension cut regular air links during a period of fighting.

Passengers arrived at Mekelle airport on Sunday for the first time in almost three weeks. Unconfirmed reports suggested about five flights could operate daily, with more added if demand grows. The restart shows improved access, but renewed fighting still threatens stability across Tigray.

The airline suspended flights because the Tigray People’s Liberation Front had seized Mekelle and its airport. That takeover created an unsafe and uncertain environment for civilian air travel. Routes to Axum and Hire were also stopped, showing that the disruption extended beyond Mekelle.

The key trigger was the TPLF’s capture of the city on September 23. When an armed group controls an airport during a conflict, normal passenger operations can no longer continue reliably. Ethiopian Airlines therefore halted service rather than maintain routes through a contested area.

Flights restarted only after federal forces recaptured Mekelle on October 3 and TPLF fighters and leaders left. Passengers returned almost three weeks later. The article does not state whether Axum and Hire flights resumed, so their status remains unclear from the available information.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, is identified in the article as a rebel group and an opposition organization from Ethiopia’s Tigray region. It seized Mekelle and the airport on September 23, prompting the suspension of airline service. Federal forces later recaptured the city.

The article shows the TPLF fighting Ethiopia’s federal government through its control of Mekelle and its later withdrawal. It also says the TPLF joined six other opposition groups in an alliance seeking to oust Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. These actions place the group at the center of the national power struggle.

The article does not explain the original political causes of the conflict or set out the TPLF’s full demands. It does show that renewed fighting has weakened the 2022 peace agreement and raised fears of a wider conflict involving neighboring Eritrea.

The human cost was enormous. Researchers at Ghent University in Belgium estimated about half a million civilian deaths during the Tigray civil war. The estimate includes deaths caused directly by violence and indirectly by famine and the collapse of health services.

This means the war harmed civilians through several connected pathways. Fighting can kill people immediately, while disrupted food supplies create hunger and famine. Damaged or inaccessible health services then make illness and injury more dangerous. The article groups all three causes in its estimate.

The scale also explains why renewed fighting is so alarming. The 2022 peace agreement ended the devastating two-year civil war, but new conflict has undermined that settlement. Continued fighting could again threaten food access, medical care, transportation, and civilian safety across the region.

Conflict damages civilian life even when people are not directly attacked. Fighting can interrupt food deliveries, close health facilities, and stop transport links. People then struggle to obtain food, reach doctors, or move away from danger. These effects can spread across entire communities.

The article gives a stark example from Tigray. Researchers attributed about half a million civilian deaths to violence, famine, and the collapse of health services. The suspension of flights to Mekelle, Axum, and Hire also illustrates how conflict can sever important transport connections.

The current danger is that renewed fighting may reproduce these conditions. The article says the new violence has undermined the 2022 peace agreement. Without stability, civilians may again face shortages, inaccessible medical care, and restricted travel, while the risk of further deaths and displacement increases.

A peace agreement matters because it is meant to stop fighting and create conditions for recovery. When violence starts again, the agreement’s central promise becomes weaker. In Tigray, renewed fighting has therefore undermined the settlement reached in 2022.

The agreement ended a devastating two-year civil war. That war caused about half a million civilian deaths through violence, famine, and the collapse of health services, according to researchers at Ghent University. The return of conflict threatens to reopen those severe humanitarian consequences.

The situation is also politically wider than Tigray alone. The article reports mounting tensions between Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea, raising fears of a broader conflict. It also says the TPLF joined six opposition groups seeking to oust Abiy Ahmed. These developments make the peace agreement’s future more uncertain.

Ethiopia’s federal system generally divides authority between the national government and regional governments. The federal level handles countrywide matters, while regions govern many local affairs. Exact powers can overlap, especially around security, elections, budgets, and territory. This answer adds established background because the article does not describe the system itself.

A dispute can become dangerous when either side believes the other is taking powers it should control. Regional leaders may resist federal decisions, while the national government may try to enforce them. If negotiations fail and armed forces answer to competing authorities, political conflict can become civil war.

The article shows the result in Tigray without detailing the original constitutional dispute. The TPLF seized Mekelle, federal forces later recaptured it, and renewed fighting now threatens the 2022 peace agreement. The conflict also involves opposition groups and rising tensions with Eritrea.