Ethiopian Forces Capture Strategic Tigray Town of Alamata Amid Renewed Fighting
Ethiopian military forces and allied militiamen captured the strategic town of Alamata south of Tigray’s capital, marking a sharp escalation in renewed fighting that has shattered the four-year-old Pretoria Agreement peace deal.
Federal Advance and the Fall of Alamata
Located approximately 120 kilometers south of the Tigray regional capital Mekelle, Alamata fell to federal forces following an opposition offensive launched the previous week. Video footage posted to Facebook by the pro-government Tigrai Peace Force showed soldiers marching through the streets and waving Ethiopian flags, though Reuters could not immediately verify the digital recording.
Diplomatic sources confirmed that the town had changed hands, while a third source reported that pro-government troops had entered the municipality. A source connected to pro-opposition forces stated that their units were actively retreating from Alamata and anticipated full federal control within hours. Spokespeople for the Ethiopian military and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Alamata serves as a critical supply hub for troops, food, and fuel near Tigray’s southern border with the Amhara region. The municipality changed hands multiple times during the 2020-2022 civil war, making its recapture a major operational milestone for federal troops pressing northward.
Regional Accusations and Broken Agreements
The outbreak of renewed combat across Tigray, Amhara, and Afar has dismantled the Pretoria Agreement, the November 2022 peace accord that ended a conflict responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths. Relations between the federal government and the TPLF—a guerrilla movement turned political party that dominated national politics for nearly thirty years prior to Abiy taking office as prime minister in 2018—have deteriorated steadily over recent months.
Three days before launching its latest offensive, the TPLF announced a new alliance with six other armed groups across Ethiopia aimed at overthrowing Abiy’s government. This renewed conflict compounds instability across the Horn of Africa, a region already strained by civil war in Sudan, Red Sea navigation disputes, and spillover from Middle East conflicts.
In state media broadcasts on Sunday, top Ethiopian military commander Berhanu Jula accused neighboring Eritrea, alongside Sudan’s armed forces and Egypt, of supporting the opposition forces. Eritrea and Sudan’s army denied the allegations, while Egypt did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Humanitarian Toll and Communications Blackout
The latest clashes have triggered widespread fears of a renewed humanitarian catastrophe reminiscent of the 2020-2022 conflict, during which the federal government severed communications and heavily restricted access to food, cash, and medical supplies. Internet and phone networks across Tigray remained disrupted for a fourth day, with four sources stating that the TPLF had ordered the telecommunications shutdowns.
Amid the growing isolation, the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ethiopia announced the evacuation of 161 people from Mekelle to the capital of neighboring Afar state on Monday. The evacuees included African Union monitors, federal police officers, Ethiopian Airlines employees, and Red Cross staff.
The region continues to struggle with the lingering impacts of the previous war, which pushed hundreds of thousands of residents into famine conditions. The United Nations refugee agency reported that approximately 750,000 Tigrayans remained internally displaced as of February, while the broader region contends with severe drought linked to El Nino.